Again and again and again
by Knowledge is a powerful tool
Summary: Well, no one could fault them for getting a little crazy... timetravel did have its bad sides...too bad they didn't really care. Warning: A crackish team 7 fic! No pairings as of yet. Discontinued, sorry.
1. Chapter 1

**Hm, say hello to yet another fic! ...This one will probably be even more crack-ish than all the others... Yay! ^.^**

**DISCLAIMER FOR THE WHOLE FIC: I don't own Naruto...as a matter of fact, I own nothing of Naruto other than a Gaara pillow (which I made myself) a Suna headband, and one suna glove. (Yes, one. My friend who gave it to me can't find the other...-.-")**

**-X**

"You don't mean that?"

"Yes, I certainly do."

"Well I mean it should've been done like this."

"No, no it shouldn't."

"Yes, I think maybe it should."

"Shut it."

"I believe you just stole the words out of my mouth."

"Did not."

"I didn't talk to you."

Kakashi came to the team 7 training ground expecting the day to be like normal. Arrive late, being yelled at, going to do a few D-ranks, get yelled at some more, train, leave. Unfortunately, it seemed that would not be the case.

"Erm…yo?" The silver-haired man said uncertainly. His three cute students looked up. "Ah, you're here." Sakura noticed. "Aa. It seems he is." Naruto remarked with a casual flick of his wrist. "Well, we better move then. Shoo." Sasuke waved his hands.

"…?"

XXX

"No. You cannot kill the cat with the kunai."

"You sure?"

"She is. We'll use the wire."

"Oh, yeah…should we tie on an explosive tag too? I have a couple of my own."

"…Good idea."

Kakashi looked quite panicked as he dashed trough the forest to stop his not-so-cute little students from killing the target, listening to them trough the radio they each had.

'…Since when did Naruto get his own explosive tags?'

XXX

A singed, very irritated sensei was glaring at his three not-cute-at-all students. "What the hell are the three of you doing?" He demanded.

"Trying to kill a devil cat?" Sakura suggested. Kakashi glared even more.

"Eh, suggestion: Take us on a C-rank mission?" Naruto said with a raised eyebrow. Kakashi scowled. "Not a chance. As a matter of fact, all three of you are suspended for a month!" He claimed.

"Oh. That long? Hm…Naruto, when does the bar open?" Sasuke asked, disregarding their pissed off, confused teacher.

"About 1700, I think. That's five hours." Naruto sighed. "Damn." Sakura pouted cutely. Kakashi sighed heavily.

"…To the Hokage's office."

XXX

"Okay…now we have a problem, I think."

"Yes, it seems that is the case."

"…We need some booze. Helps clearing things up."

"Quite. So, we're coming over to you. I'll pack my stuff, and we'll meet up at Yoi Suzume, hm?"

Sasuke nodded his consent, and Naruto and Sakura left to pack. The dark-haired boy himself just took a walk. He calmly strolled around a corner and abruptly stopped.

'…Fangirls…' A horde of girls, and was that some older women too, was standing in his way.

What is a man to do…? The answer is of course…run away.

Sasuke hurriedly ran somewhat comically with flailing arms away, up a wall, jumped over to a rope hanging over two roofs and stood there looking down at the screaming women.

"…M'ladies, you will always remember this as the day you almost caught up to Uchiha Sasuke!" The dark-haired boy said jovially, and continued bouncing over the roofs. Several took up chase, while some were left with stupefied expressions.

"…Sasuke…?" A certain blonde girl said dazed, never once having seen the antisocial boy act like…like…Naruto! The blonde, Ino growled. 'This is all Naruto's fault I bet!' She thought, and set out to find the blonde boy.

Meanwhile, Naruto was calmly packing his stuff, and Sakura was sneaking out of her house.

XXX

"Naruto!" A shrill voice screamed, and Naruto flinched, looking at Ino who was storming towards him. "What have you done to Sasuke?" The girl demanded. Naruto blinked.

"I've done something?" He asked curiously. "Yes you have! Sasuke was acting like you! And he was all…cheerful and wobbly and…!" Ino screamed. Naruto blinked again. "Oh that. No, that's just something he finds funny. It originated when he drank too much." He explained with an airy wave.

"Sasuke doesn't drink! You liar!" Ino yelled.

"Whoever said I didn't? It's a lovely feeling, being drunk that is." Sasuke said as he jumped down from a roof. Ino gaped. "Sasuke!" She yelled. Sasuke winced. "I hear ye, I hear ye. No need to yell, bonny lass."

"Now, now. Don't confuse the poor little piglet." Sakura said as she poofed into place beside the two. "Wah, forehead? What are you doing? Sasuke is acting like that deadlast!" Ino shrieked.

"Aye, that be true."

"Well, do something then!"

"Why would I do that? What lies in it for me?" Sakura wagged her finger in front of Ino's face, and flicked her in the forehead, causing the blonde girl to fly backwards into a wall.

"Since when were you that strong?" Ino gaped. Sakura shrugged. "Since I actually trained?" She suggested.

"Ah, we have no more time to spill! Come now, move, move, move!" Naruto made a shooing motion with his hands and the three members of team 7 hurried along. Ino was left dumbfounded.

XXX

"So, aside for the brief moments of piratey craziness, we're good."

"Don't forget that we tried to end Tora's misery. Again."

"I didn't forget it. I just…suppressed it."

"Whatever. The bar's open a little early today, it seems."

"Yay!"

People looked weirdly at the trio of strange teens as they went into Yoi Suzume, one of Konoha's well-known trouble-places.

"Welcome. Hm, aren't you guys a little young to be coming here?" A petite woman with leather clothes and scarred hands asked with a slight smile.

"Probably, yes." Naruto answered airily. "Indeed." Sakura added. "But we're shinobi, are we not?" Sasuke finished. The woman laughed. "Yeah, yeah. But don't expect me to help you when you get into trouble. What'll it be?" She asked, leaning towards them.

"I'll have some sake." Naruto grinned. Sasuke shrugged. "Sake." He chose. Sakura tilted her head. "I'll take some sake too, thanks." She beamed. The woman nodded and got their orders. "My name's Yoru. Just in case you needed to know." She said as they paid for the drinks and sat at an empty table.

"Hoh? Since when did Yoru allow pipsqueaks in here?" A rough though feminine voice asked. Sasuke turned to see Anko Mitarashi grin at them. He shrugged. "Since they could talk for themselves, I'd say." He replied calmly.

"Or maybe she just likes us. We have that effect on people." Naruto said with a tilted head. "Maybe both." Sakura added, sipping her sake. Anko came over towards them. "Oh? You're tough, huh? Now that I think about it… You're Kakashi's brats aren't ya? Heard you got into some trouble." She chuckled.

Naruto grinned. "I wouldn't say trouble outright… we just tried to rid the world of the evil Tora, and Kakashi wouldn't let us blow it up. Suspended us, even." He sighed dramatically, and Anko sat down on a free chair. "Not even one of you have thrown up yet, and you're trying to blow up cats, wow, I have to say Kakashi got a nice bunch." She exclaimed.

"Yup. Though it seems he doesn't share your meanings." Sakura nodded sagely. Anko laughed. "No, I can't say he does." She agreed. "Hey, Mitarashi? You know if one is allowed to smoke here?" Naruto questioned. Anko raised an eyebrow.

"Yet another bad habit?" She chuckled. "It's allowed." She added. Sasuke huffed, setting down his empty cup of sake. "He doesn't see it as a bad habit, considering the fact it doesn't hurt him. The Kyuubi cleans it all up." He complained.

Anko raised an eyebrow. "You know of it?" She said, surprised. Sakura and Sasuke nodded. "We know everything about each others. I daresay we're quite complicated." Sakura waved her hand airily, and glared at Naruto when he blew a ring of smoke towards her.

"You bet we are. Say, Mitarashi, you're a real cool jonin. Would you mind training us while we're suspended? Kakashi probably suspects us to sit at home doing nothing."

Anko tilted her head. "You know, I like you, so I only have one thing you must follow in that case. Never EVER call me sensei!" She hissed. All three nodded, and she grinned. "Good. Then meet up at training ground 44 in the morning. You'll get training if you come, and if you don't, well, then I'll just have to find something else to do."

"Yay!" Sakura exclaimed happily. Naruto breathed out some smoke with a satisfied look, and Sasuke smirked. "Thank ye for yer offer, we all appreciate it." He said. Anko laughed, very amused at their changing behaviors and left.

"Well now, this might turn out interesting." Naruto chuckled. Sasuke and Sakura nodded. "Very much so." Sakura smiled.

Over at the disk, Yoru chuckled at the strange trio of genin.

XXX

Next day, Anko was lounging at the fence to one of Konoha's largest and most dangerous training grounds, looking after the trio.

"Do we have an accord?"

"Aye, we have an accord."

Anko turned; slightly shocked at seeing the trio stand beside her shaking hands. "Seems you have some skills with stealth, after all." She commented. Naruto looked up through black sunglasses. "Of course. Now what'll you teach us today?" He wondered, looking like a pleading puppy.

Anko leapt down from the fence to stand in front of them. "First things first. Get new clothes. Second, find me in the forest when you come back!" She grinned, and leapt inside. The trio looked at each other and dashed back to the Uchiha compound.

XXX

The trio arrived at the fence again, now in new clothing.

Naruto wore a black t-shirt with fishnet sleeves to slightly above his elbows, dark crimson combat pants with many pockets and black combat boots. He also had black, finger-less gloves, and his blue headband had been turned black with long ends.

Sakura wore a long-sleeved, loose white shirt with a black vest over, a short black skirt with slits up the sides, white training shorts underneath, black boots with many buckles, and her headband had turned black as well. Her long hair had been put in a messy bun.

Sasuke wore a dark white t-shirt with black fishnet sleeves to his elbows, dark blue shinobi pants, a thin chain on each hip, near knee-high shinobi sandals and no headband, but the metal plate fastened to one of the chains. His bangs were allowed to fall down his forehead.

As one, all three dashed into the trees, landing only a little ways from the fence.

"Well, we have already formulated a plan, haven't we?"

"Aye, Captain."

"No ship here, no captain."

"Eh, let him call me whatever he wants. I think he liked being a pirate too much. I smell Mitarashi in that direction." Naruto pointed into the trees, and they leapt up into the trees, beginning to tree jump.

"She's hidden her scent well." Naruto remarked as he span around to get a speed boost. "With your nose, that shouldn't be a problem." Sasuke said with a pointed look. Naruto grinned. "Nope! It's not far now." He hushed his teammates, and they sprung into a clearing where Anko was standing.

Sasuke dodged the snakes she sent at him, attacked her, but halfway through the attack pulled back and disappeared into the trees again. Then Sakura came from the other side, kicking the ground. The ground cracked up, creating a huge crater.

Anko leapt into the air, tossing a few kunai after the pink-haired girl. Then she span around to dodge a cutting wind, originating from a small black fan Naruto held.

"You have to do better than that!" She yelled, grinning. Naruto tilted his head and nodded to his two teammates. Sakura and Sasuke charged at the same time from two different directions, while the blonde pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

"You can't relax in the middle of a fight!" Anko chastised, charging towards the boy, who blew a cloud of smoke at her.

"…Huh?" Anko uttered, hanging still in mid-air. Around her was the smoke Naruto blew, shifting yet stable. Naruto grinned triumphant. "Don't forget that everything can be a weapon! I'm merely manipulating the smoke with my chakra." He explained.

"Good job, Captain!"

"Still not captain."

"Shut yer mouth."

"Enough already!" Naruto yelled, blowing smoke on his two teammates and manipulating it to hit them on their heads.

"So, did we pass this impulsive test, Mitarashi?" He asked, waving his fan idly. Anko blinked. "Put me down. And yes, I'd say so. You're surprisingly good at teamwork considering the rumors of being the worst genin team this year. And you have a clear leader, that's good too." She complimented.

Naruto siphoned his chakra away from the smoke, and Anko landed on the forest floor silently.

"So, what'll we be learning?" Sakura asked curiously. Anko tilted her head. "Well, you've got teamwork pretty well down so far…so individual skills it is!" She grinned.

Sasuke smirked. "Already you're proving to be a better teacher than Kakashi. He'd have us do chakra exercises, teamwork training, and more chakra exercises." He sighed dramatically.

"He would? Wow, even worse than I thought. Anyway, tell me your skills, just a summary." The purple-haired jonin demanded. Naruto nodded. "Well, I have Kage Bunshin and it's various relatives, manipulation of air and unstable matter in air, chakra strings, chakra shaping, sealing skills, jinchuuriki cloak, etc. I really can't remember everything."

"I've got Kage Bunshin, extreme strength, chakra shaping, very few sealing skills, medic jutsu including the destroying version of the chakra scalpel, and not really much else. I'm good at building ships though." Sakura noted.

"I have a vast amount of fire jutsu, a couple water jutsu, and many others, chakra strings, Kage Bunshin and Bunshin Bakuha, chakra scalpel, chakra manipulation, sharinghan, false jinchuuriki cloak, and so on." Sasuke ticked off at his fingers.

Anko blinked. "And you're genin? I'd have thought you to be chuunin, the least! Naruto; what's chakra shaping? Sakura; what kind of ships? Sasuke; false jinchuuriki cloak?" She questioned.

Naruto nodded with a smile. "Chakra shaping is mostly a control exercise, but it can be used for intimidation as well. It consists of molding your chakra outside of your body into a shape. It can be a ball, or if you're good at it, animals and such." He explained to the somewhat awed jonin.

Sakura tilted her head. "I can build a galleon. Though it takes some time." She said. Anko nodded and looked at Sasuke who looked transfixed at a blue butterfly flying by.

"…Oh! The false jinchuuriki cloak is something Naruto and I developed. Because of some trouble, he infused me with some of the Kyuubi's chakra, using a sealing filter to purify it slightly as not to harm me. In the end I got about one tail of chakra, which I can pull out to get a jinchuuriki cloak like Naruto. Though he can go more than one tail."

Anko's eyes were wide as she listened to the explanation. "Are you sure you guys are Team Kakashi?" She questioned incredulously. Naruto nodded. "Pretty much. Though we prefer the term Team 7 or Team We're-more-amazing-than-you'll-ever-be." He explained.

Anko got a deadpanned look.

"You think we broke her?"

"Nah, she's cool."

"Yeah, but even cool people can break."

"Not Mitarashi. She's even more than cool, she's awesome."

"Mm…you're right. Hey, who wants lunch?"

"ME!"

XXX

The trio and Anko sat at Ichiraku's, eating, of course, ramen.

"That's impossible Ino. You probably dreamt it all." A drawling voice sighed, and they turned to see team 10 come walking. "I didn't dream it! Everyone else saw it too!" The girl of the team claimed.

"Saw what?" Sakura asked. "That Sasuke acted weirdly!" Ino answered, and then span around in shock to look at the three of them sitting there. "Can't I act how I want?" Sasuke demanded, raising an eyebrow.

Shikamaru frowned as he looked at them. "Where's Kakashi? And aren't you supposed to have missions now at this time?" He asked, subtly studying their changes.

"Oh, Kakashi is probably trying to get another team or something. And we're suspended from active duty, so we found another, more awesome teacher!" Naruto explained, gesturing to Anko, who waved lazily.

"Suspended?" Choji wondered. "Aye. We weren't allowed to blow up cats." Sasuke nodded sadly. Ino gestured wildly towards him. "See, Shikamaru!" She exclaimed. The pony-tailed boy narrowed his eyes. "Are you really Team 7?" He demanded.

All three of them burst into laughter. "Wow! We got Shikamaru suspicious on us!" Sakura chuckled. "What do we do, Captain?" Sasuke questioned with a smirk. Naruto got a thoughtful look. "Aye, it seems we have a real problem here. I'd say we do…nothing! Cuz really, since when did we care about other's opinions?"

Team 10 looked absolutely shocked, while Anko was snickering, and Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku looked confused.

"Sorry, Team 10, but we have to go. Au revoir." Naruto stood up, bowed, and lit a cigarette. Sasuke and Sakura did dramatical bows for themselves and then all three disappeared in a cloud of dark blue smoke.

Anko laughed at Team 10's astounded looks. "Yeah, they're not among the most normal, but they're definitively the most funny ones!" She said, and was gone in a cloud of normal smoke.

"…Oh no, Naruto have made Sakura and that jonin crazy too!" Ino screamed. She was silenced when Shikamaru actually bopped her on the head. "He haven't made them like that…they're all like that. It's…natural; didn't you feel it? Something's up with those three…"

"Huh?"

XXX

**So? I must admit I got the idea from another fic, but it was so awesome, so I wanted to make a story like that too! ...Unfortunately, I don't remember the name. It's on my fav list though. **

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yeah, yet another chapter of confusing craziness! ...Well, it's not as crazy as the first chapter, but I hope it's good enough for you! ^.^**

"No way!"

"Yes way! I'll take it in cash."

"…You must've cheated!"

"He doesn't cheat, hypocrite. Now hand over the cash."

"Hmph."

"Take it as a lesson, you won't win against him. Ever."

Sakura wagged her finger at the now broke chuunin glaring at Naruto, who fanned his face idly with a stock of cards. The chuunin grumpily handed over the money and quickly left.

Sasuke smirked, while Naruto expertly counted the green paper slips. Anko and another jonin, Kurenai Yuhi, was watching them with a smirk and a faintly shocked look respectively.

"How did you get so good?" The crimson-eyed jonin wondered. Naruto shrugged as he pocketed the money. "I'm a natural, and it's good practice to play with Kyuubi, he's got some awesome skills!" He grinned, and lit a cigarette.

Kurenai was slightly unnerved at how he spoke of Kyuubi, though curious. Anko raised one eyebrow. "You play poker with the natural disaster?" She chuckled. "He plays poker with anyone." Sakura deadpanned.

"He'd probably play poker with the leader of an evil mercenary band if he could." Sasuke agreed dryly. Kurenai and Anko sweat dropped. "Say…what do you want to do today, brats?" She wondered.

Naruto got a thoughtful look on his face. "Can we go ask the old man Hokage about being allowed to leave the village? I want to go to Nami, and get someone to make a bridge, named after me!" He grinned, breathing out a cloud of smoke.

"…That's a strange thing to want…okay, let's go to the Hokage!" Anko grinned, poofing away. Kurenai started, and sighed as the three genin poofed away as well.

"I think they've made Anko even crazier than normal…" She muttered.

XXX

The Hokage looked somewhat incredulous as Naruto explained his 'great' dream of getting a bridge named after him. Sasuke and Sakura were adding reasons, while Anko stood behind all three with her hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh.

"Should you not ask Kakashi for permission?" The old man asked pointedly. Naruto waved his hand. "Nah, he'd never allow us to. And old man, we'd be having Anko with us! She can watch out for us, ya know?" He offered.

The Hokage sighed. "I can't just allow you to roam wherever you want, when you want, Naruto. Even with a jonin… But." He took a dramatic pause here. "I can send you on a mission to wave. Recently we got a request for an escort to Nami."

"We'll take it! Pretty please?" Naruto grinned innocently. The Hokage snorted. "Very well. It is only this once Naruto. Understood? I will send the client to the gate in an hour." He said.

The three genin grinned, while Anko smirked. In a matter of seconds, all were gone, leaving only a lot of smoke.

"Cough, cough! Why can't anyone use the door?"

XXX

"We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz. You'll find he's a whiz of a wiz! If ever a wiz there was." Sakura chanted as she skipped beside Naruto.

Tazuna, the client, looked miserable, and incredulous. 'What did I do to deserve a bunch of strange kids and a crazy woman as my escort?' He demanded in his mind.

"Mitarashi? What would happen if one were to drop a paper bomb in a puddle?" Naruto asked, looking at the purple-haired jonin through half-lidded eyes.

Anko shrugged. "It'd blow up." She replied dryly.

"Oh, nice!" Naruto grinned, and dropped said paper bomb in a suspicious puddle lying in the middle of the way.

Two screams echoed the blast.

Tazuna swallowed heavily. "How'd you know they were there?" He wondered. Naruto glared at him. "It hasn't rained in days." He pointed out. Sasuke smirked at the old man.

"So, why are they after you? And don't try to explain it away, we already know."

"How?"

"We're just awesome like that. Let's continue!"

"Aye, Captain!"

"Not again!"

XXX

"Hm…Mitarashi? You might want to…duck." Naruto said with an amused smile as a giant sword cleaved right through him, though for some strange reason, his waist only dissolved into smoke before settling back to normal. Anko rose and glared at the sword.

"Don't glare at it! You'll hurt its feelings!" Sakura exclaimed.

Tazuna felt as if he should begin to weep.

"Look! It's Mr. Pajama pants!" Sasuke declared, pointing at the tall, muscled man standing at the handle of the sword, wearing somewhat poofy pants and no shirt. Not to forget the bandages around his mouth and neck.

The man glared at the dark-haired boy. "You ruined the moment, brat!" He growled. Sasuke pouted. "I didn't mean to. Will it be okay if we let you leave without letting Naruto blow you up?" He smiled innocently, and the man blinked.

"Uchiha-brat, no negotiating with strangers! Besides, I want to play with him, Naruto can find someone else!" Anko yelled with a childish look on her face.

"Is he really a stranger when we know his name?" Sakura wondered, looking at the black-haired man.

"…Don't talk as if I'm not here, you brats and woman!"

XXX

Haku watched in awed incredulity as Zabuza was running around, dodging the purple-haired jonin's snakes, the black-haired boy's fireballs, the pink-haired girl's kicks, and the blonde boy's sealing tags.

Those sealing tags seemed pretty nifty, but how in all the layers of hell did he put a ferocious kitten inside?

"Bad kitten! Fuzzy, let go of Mr. Pajama Pants and return to your tag now."

"Fuzzy, don't eat the cute little snakes!"

"Move, Fuzzy! I'm trying to fry someone here!"

"Get the cat away! That's my play toy he's scratching up!"

Haku sweat dropped as the escort team argued among themselves, while still attacking Zabuza. Tazuna was rubbing his forehead, and grumbling about crazy ninja.

"Would you stop that? I'm the one ambushing you, at least allow me one attack!" Zabuza yelled, ducking as Fuzzy the cat tried to skewer his head with strangely metallic claws.

"…Nah." Naruto smiled widely as he crushed his cigarette with his fingers. Zabuza grunted in irritation and swung his sword, batting Anko's snakes and Fuzzy away.

"Meow." The cat deadpanned, shaking its head after being slammed into a tree.

"What the hell is that cat made of?" Anko demanded. Naruto shrugged. "Metal. And cat." He replied.

"Water style, water dragon jutsu!" Zabuza's roar made the blonde and the purple-head turn to look at a large dragon soaring right towards them. Naruto sighed. "I hate water." He muttered, just as he dissolved into smoke.

"Oi, bastard! That was unneeded!" Sakura shouted, and gave Zabuza a solid roundhouse kick.

The tall, muscled man was sent flying, then skidding over the lake.

Haku watched his master slam into a tree. '…I suppose now is a good time to help.' He decided, and with that, he knocked the older man out cold with two well-placed senbon.

XXX

"So, what's up with the cat?" Anko asked as she trudged alongside Tazuna, who was shivering faintly.

"It's Fuzzy! Ain't he cute?"

"Fuzzy's cool, but he's got some issues with listening to commands."

"Bah, Fuzzy's alright. He was near dead when I found him, and some of his organs and stuff were destroyed. So I made new ones for him, and kind of saved him. After that, he was clinging onto me all the time…so I put him in a seal tag."

"He's not in the seal tag now." Anko pointed out, looking at the cat curled up to sleep on top of Naruto's head.

"Nah, it's not that much fun to be there, I suspect. Besides, he's better than a watchdog!" Naruto replied jovially.

Tazuna looked at the blonde genin curiously. "Say, how did you do that turn into smoke thing?" He wondered. Naruto waved his hand in the air. "Ninja stuff. I use my chakra to do it, so as long as I have chakra, I am more or less unkillable." He grinned.

"That's real unfair too, we can't do it because we haven't got enough chakra, and we're no good at manipulating floating substance…or whatever." Sakura complained with a pout.

"Something like that. I've got enough chakra to be smoked up for about an hour though." Sasuke added with a smirk.

"Meow." Fuzzy uttered, licking a paw before falling asleep.

Anko yawned. "The cat's got the right idea! Tazuna, how long 'til your home? I really want to sleep!" She complained. Tazuna sighed. "Not far now." He muttered.

"Hey, Sakura! Do you want a cat? I've got two others in my seal tags!"

"Oh, nice! Gimme one!"

"Me too, Captain!"

"Aye, you too, Sasuke."

Naruto dug up two more seal tags from his pouch, handing one to each. Anko and Tazuna watched interested.

Sakura's cat was a calico kitten, with green eyes, and claws similar to Fuzzy.

Sasuke's cat was a Siamese kitten, with dark red eyes, and the same claws.

"Their names are Scimitar and Coricopat! Scimitar's claws are a bit sturdier than Cori and Fuzzy's, and Cori's got a finer sense of smell and hearing than the two others." Naruto explained with a grin.

"Did you name the cats? Honestly? The scary one has a cute name, the lazy-looking one has the name of a weapon, and what does Coricopat even mean?" Anko said with a confused expression.

"I think their names fit perfectly! …And I have no idea what it means."

"Indeed. Coricopat actually reminds me of psychopath. It's a perfect fit!" Sasuke decided. Sakura nodded. "Scimitar's a cute name too." She added.

Anko shook her head with a shrug, while Tazuna looked at the harmless-looking kittens each genin now had.

"Meow."

XXX

Anko stretched out on her futon, put in a guest room in Tazuna's house. "Ah, sleep now!" She yawned, and promptly fell asleep. The three genin she was currently teaching looked incredulously at the soundly sleeping jonin.

"Unusual, but smart."

"Why?"

"Well, no thinking, for one."

"So…what do we do now, Captain?"

"Stop it!"

"Eh, it doesn't matter, we're by the sea anyways. And what to do…? Let's go ask Tsunami!"

All three ran down, somehow managing to be as silent as if they had sneaked slowly down the stairs. Scimitar was sitting on Sakura's shoulder; Coricopat was lying around Sasuke's neck, while Fuzzy was still on top of Naruto's head.

"Tsunami! Is there anything we can help you with?" Sakura asked with an extremely cute-and-innocent expression. Tsunami blinked slowly in surprise.

"Well, I suppose… Could one of you find Inari? And then I need someone to go buy some food for me." The black-haired woman requested. Naruto grinned. "I'll find the little guy. That means you two go buy food." He waved with an impish smile and dissolved into smoke that drifted away.

"No fair, how come he's got yet another cool way of leaving?" Sakura muttered, before smiling brightly at Tsunami's curious face.

XXX

Inari was sitting at the dock, glaring at the water that rippled in slow waves. He sniffed and coughed as grey smoke snaked around him, with the typical smell of a cigarette.

"Now, now, kid. What did the water do to make you so angry?" A smooth voice questioned, and the young boy looked up to see Naruto standing there, with a cigarette in his mouth.

"Leave me alone." Inari muttered. Naruto smiled amiably. "I'm afraid I cannot. Your mother requested me to find you, after all." He replied. Inari glared even more fiercely at the water, hearing the blonde boy's near cheerful voice.

"Just leave! You don't know anything about this place, and you can't beat Gato! Just leave, or die!" The black-haired boy huffed. Naruto tilted his head. "I've already died before, it's not that bad." He retorted calmly.

"What?" Inari turned to stare incredulously at the boy. "Look, kid, I'm not a hero, I'm not a villain, and I'm merely me. And dying, it isn't so bad. You see, at first, it seems really cold…and then, it begins to get warm, and comfortable. You feel as if you can finally get some well-deserved rest. And finally…you can meet them again. Those you've lost…I met my mom and dad, you know? I was so happy…but then I had to come back to life again. But still, even though death is peaceful…life might be worth living, for just a while. Now come, your mother's waiting."

Naruto's wistful voice as he talked about death seemed…wrong, somehow. But then he shifted back to his cheerful persona, and Inari frowned. 'So…he isn't just stupid…' He thought.

"…Whom do you live with, if your parents died?" The small boy wondered silently as he trudged beside the blonde.

Naruto shrugged. "Nobody. I've been living on my own since I was kicked out of the orphanage. My mom and dad, they died the day I was born, cause the Kyuubi no Youko attacked." He explained casually, breathing out smoke and fascinating Inari with making shapes of it.

"How do you do that?" The boy demanded, just as another swirl of smoke turned into a cat, which made Fuzzy jump to attack it, landing on Inari's hat.

"I use my chakra, if you know what that is. Ninja energy, if you want. And say hi to Fuzzy!"

Inari pried the cat off his hat, and looked at it curiously. It was silverish-grey, with golden eyes and metal-looking claws. When it yawned, he could see that it's teeth were metal too.

"What's up with his claws and fangs?" He asked. Naruto shrugged. "Fuzzy was almost dead when I found him out in the forest. And I like animals, and though I'm not a veterinary the least, I could fix him up…so quite a lot of Fuzzy is actually a light, yet sturdy metal material." He explained.

Inari's eyes were wide in awe, as he carefully hugged the purring kitten. "Wow, that's amazing." He muttered. Naruto laughed as he tossed the cig in the water. "Not really. But thanks kid."

XXX

Sasuke and Sakura looked around with definite frowns on their faces as they went to buy what Tsunami needed. Children in the streets held a defeated aura, even though they were playing. The game itself lacked the normal luster it should have as well.

Sakura smacked her fist against her hand. "That bastard Gato, no matter how many times I see this, it's still horrible!" She growled. Sasuke mutely nodded, though she could see his sharinghan swirl into existence.

"Sakura, do you still have one of those candy tags Naruto gave us?" He suddenly asked, and she blinked. "Oh! I forgot that. Good idea, First mate!" She exclaimed.

Sasuke glared. "You tell me I can't call Naruto Captain, and now YOU'RE reverting to calling me First mate? Hypocrite." He grumbled. Sakura just wiggled her fingers with a small grin and pulled up a tag.

"Hey, kids! Here you go, and share it, or I'll have my friend fry you, and cut off your fingers!" Sakura said, looming over the kids that came running seeing the near tower of candy.

"We will, miss! Thank you so much!" They said in unison, and Sakura smiled happily, while Sasuke looked faintly disturbed.

XXX

"So, how was it this time?"

"Still as bad, Captain. Though I did remember to remember Sakura to remember the candy tags."

"…Oh."

"Those kids were so sweet, though First mate seemed somewhat frightened of them."

"Not frightened, disturbed. There's a difference."

"Nah."

Tsunami and Inari sat listening to the team argue-report, while Anko was still sleeping, and Tazuna was gone in a drunken haze.

"Excuse me, why do you call each other as if you're…from a ship?" Tsunami wondered. Naruto looked over at her. "Oh, that's because we were pirates a couple times ago. Good pirates, not the bad kind. I'm Captain, Sasuke's my first mate, and Sakura is generally the navigator."

"…Couple times ago?" Inari blinked. Naruto shrugged. "Yep, just that. Oh, Mitarashi woke up!" He grinned, dashing upstairs.

Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other, then at the two inhabitants of the house. "We're dragging the others out to train, see ya at dinner time!" They chorused, and ran after Naruto.

Tsunami looked at Inari. Inari looked at Tsunami.

"They're quite strange."

"Yeah…did you know Naruto-niisan died?"

"…Huh?"

XXX

"So, brats! How good chakra control do you lot have?" Anko demanded, grinning at the trio.

"Mitarashi, did you, or did you not see all three of us walk on water?" Naruto deadpanned. Anko grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of her head.

"We've got all the usual ones down, and our made-up chakra shaping." Sakura said, making a butterfly that flapped its wings between her hands. Anko blinked.

"Say, Anko…? Would you mind if we lured you, went to Gato's hideout, blew it up with helluva lot of Naruto's tags, and came back?" Sasuke asked. Anko looked somewhat incredulous, though contemplating.

"Nah, I'd get in trouble with the Sandaime." She denied with a sigh. Naruto got a thoughtful look on his face. "What about us knocking you out and finding Zabuza and the fake hunter-nin instead?" He suggested.

Anko glared. "Even if I said no, you'd probably knock me out either way, damn brat." She noted. Naruto grinned, and nodded. "Fuzzy." He commanded, and the cat bounded from a tree, barreling into Anko who didn't really move or anything.

"…You…owe me…brat!"

The purple-haired jonin muttered, before falling to the ground with a dull thump. Sakura pulled her up and sat her to lean against a tree. Naruto quickly placed a couple of tags around the unconscious woman, and all three bounded off to where they first met the black-haired missing-nin.

"How come Anko didn't move away?" Sasuke wondered. Naruto smirked lightly. "She allowed us to go, First mate. And so the Sandaime can't really claim she didn't watch us good enough, she had to be knocked out. Simple, really."

"She's pretty nice, though she has a rough exterior."

"Yeah, she's nice to those she likes, but those she don't like…"

"Good thing she likes us then! Anyway, the track leads this way, now move!"

"Aye, Captain!"

XXX

**...I have no idea where the cats came from. Probably the fact that MY cat, Putte, was just trying to attack my foot, jumping out of a box...**

**Anyway, I'm wondering whether this fic should be an 'invincible-and-crazy' fic, or a bit more serious...I've never actually written an I-a-c fic before, so it could be interesting...they'd probably mostly win because of their tricks and confusingness! xD**

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**...I updated! You can now rejoice! ...Whatever that word means. xP **

"Fuzzy, stop that this instant! One does not claw up a door just for fun!"

"Nah, let him do it, it's good for his claws, you know."

"It's not, I designed them, and I know what's good for them."

"Well, it does give us a chance to surprise them."

"They'll probably be up and ready to fight already, you mean."

Haku watched incredulously at the three teens currently discussing the grey kitten that had just decimated the door to their hideout.

"What do you want?" He demanded, brandishing two senbon threateningly. Naruto looked at him curiously, and his sunglasses slipped down slightly, exposing cerulean blue eyes with vast knowledge.

"…We got a deal for you both." He said smoothly, and bonked Sakura and Sasuke on the head with some smoke from his cig. Fuzzy was already perched on his head, again.

"…What is that?" The feminine-looking boy asked. Naruto made a small wave with his hand. "Gotta talk with both you and Zabuza! We haven't got any weapons on us anyway…well, except those improvised ones. Which are actually a lot." He looked thoughtful.

Haku narrowed his eyes, until he heard Zabuza trying to move from his bed. He hurriedly dashed back to push the bigger man down, while still keeping an eye on the three.

"Yo, Zabuza! How are you doing? Sure hope Fuzzy didn't scratch your face off or anything." Naruto waved cheerily. Zabuza narrowed his eyes. "What do you want, brat?" He growled.

"Don't talk that way to our Captain!" Sasuke sneered. Sakura glared and nodded. Zabuza snorted, while Haku looked confused.

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. I've got a deal for you~." The blonde crooned with a small grin. Zabuza raised one eyebrow enquiringly. "What would you say if I could offer sanctuary in Konoha?" The whiskered boy wondered.

"Why?" Asked the bulky man suspiciously. Naruto shrugged. "I feel for it. And I like you and Haku! You're real cool! I'd put you under protection of my clan, and then the various megalomaniacs can't do anything to you." He explained.

Haku blinked. "How did you know my name?" He wondered. Naruto smirked. "Because I'm awesome, obviously. Anyway, let's introduce ourselves properly guys! I'm Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, pleasure to meet you…without fighting?"

"Sasuke Uchiha."

"I'm Sakura Haruno, nice to meet you."

XXX

"So you're saying that…"

"Yup."

"And that means we'll be…"

"Yup."

"What do you want in exchange? Nothing ever comes free."

"Oh, but this does! …Well, I we could always use some new sparring partners…"

Naruto grinned lazily as Zabuza scrutinized them. "Deal?" The blonde asked, reaching out a hand. Zabuza looked at the hopeful Haku out of the corner of his eye. "Very well, brat. But if this turns out bad, you'll be dead before you know it." He threatened.

Naruto nodded calmly. "Well, I'd say you should stay here until you've healed. We also need your help with getting rid of Gato, after all." He shrugged. "Luring him out on the bridge this time then? Or something else?" Sasuke wondered.

"Can we do my thing? Pretty please!" Sakura pleaded with a hopeful look. Naruto smirked. "Yeah, I think that's exactly what we'll do!" He agreed. Sasuke snorted. "I want to be dead Kaiza, then." He said.

"What the hell are you brats talking about?" Zabuza demanded, curious. Haku looked equally curious, but kept silent. Naruto grinned. "We're talking about plan 'Send him to hell'! It's a mix of illusions, seals, and pure manipulation of fear." He explained.

Sasuke looked at Zabuza and Haku critically. "You guys should show up at the bridge as if to fight us, we'll use a genjutsu to lure him, and we'll take care of him while you take care of any thugs he might have taken with. Sound good?" He wondered.

Zabuza nodded. "Sounds fine." He nodded shortly. Naruto stretched, satisfied. "Good! We'll be leaving now, then. See ya at …about a week? Yeah, you'll be healed then. Bye!" He waved cheerily, and with that, all three genin disappeared in a plume of dark blue smoke.

XXX

Anko grunted as she woke up propped up to a tree. "I better get some dango from the brats when we come home…" She muttered.

"Why when we come home? I've got something right here!"

"…Mm, tasty."

"I prefer tomatoes."

"Well, you're weird."

"Dango is definitely better, but pocky tops it all!"

Anko blinked, somewhat confused at her three kind-of-students, before reaching out and grabbing Naruto's stick of dango. "Thanks brat. How did it go?" She wondered.

Naruto pouted at his loss of dango, before pulling one from yet another seal tag. "Real nice. We'll eliminate Gato in a week's time, and the two of them will be coming home with us." He explained with a grin.

Anko raised one eyebrow. "Well, ain't that nice. But that still doesn't mean I'll let you lot slack off! Get to work, brats!" She yelled, grinning.

"Aye-aye!"

"Will do!"

"Watch your back, First mate!"

"Aye, Captain!"

"…Eh, as long as you train."

XXX

Naruto sat on his futon and took a deep drag of his cig. "I just know there is something I'm forgetting…" He mused. Suddenly, there was a scream downstairs, and he nodded sagely. "That was it."

Dissolving into smoke, the blonde appeared down the stairs, and watched Inari charge at some thugs with a kitchen knife. The thug not holding Tsunami prepared to strike down the kid, but Naruto sighed audibly.

"Inari, Inari. You should rather have a two-sided weapon, and some sort of advantage. Charging recklessly will get you killed, and then you can't cuddle with Fuzzy anymore, ya know? Which reminds me…Fuzzy, attack." The sunglasses-wearing boy smirked as his Russian blue kitten flew from a cupboard and attached itself to the thug's face.

The other thug, holding Tsunami looked incredulously on, letting go of the house woman who instantly ran to Naruto and Inari. Naruto handed Inari a kunai. "Here. See, hold it like this, and throw…there! Nice job." He smirked as the young boy nailed the not-being-attacked-by-crazy-kitten thug in the forehead.

Tsunami looked somewhat disturbed, but happy. Naruto snapped his fingers, and Fuzzy retreated from the other thug, who was, predictably, more or less dead. Another kunai, and he was out.

"I'll see ya later, Inari, Tsunami. I'm just running a bit late for something…" Naruto grinned, saluted, and disappeared with the two thugs.

"Wow, Naruto-niisan is amazing!"

"Yes, he is, isn't he?"

"And did you see my throw? I was amazing too, right?"

"Yes, of course you were, Inari."

XXX

Anko and Zabuza sat at the bridge playing Go fish, while Haku, Sakura and Sasuke exchanged fighting tips and strategies.

"…Go fish? Really?"

"Captain! …You took your time."

"Of course I did! I was supposed to."

"You were?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"Naruto? I can feel vibrations in the ground."

Anko and Zabuza ignored the genin, and continued playing.

"Hah, the demon of the mist? How pathetic, you're just a baby demon, Zabuza!" A whiny noise screeched. Zabuza glanced over at where Gato had appeared, with a whole lot of thugs.

"How the hell did he get to the end of the bridge…?" Naruto wondered incredulously. "A boat, maybe?" Sakura suggested. "Eh, probably. Shall I release the illusion?" Sasuke wondered.

"Aa, do so."

Zabuza pocketed his cards, and stood up stretching. "This'll be fun." He grinned. Anko nodded giddily. "I can't wait for some real slaughter!" She snickered.

XXX

Gato paled drastically when the beaten forms of all the ninja melted away to reveal them all perfectly fine. He was kind of curious when he saw that the pink-haired one had donned a flowery kimono though.

"Pitiful shadow bound in darkness…" Was it just his imagination or was everything turning rapidly black? "…Looking down upon people and causing them pain…" When did her eyes turn red? "…A soul drowned in sinful karma…" Okay, he was kind of scared now… "How would you like dying this once…?"

Gato sneered unsurely when the girl lifted her flowered sleeve, and the flowers seemed to cover everything.

He woke up in some sort of boat. The girl was standing and rowing. "Hey, girl! Get us back at once!" He demanded. She just smirked, and the small man screamed when an armless skeleton with a rope around its head burst through the bottom of the boat.

More and more people he had killed appeared, trying to drag him under, while the girl calmly rowed through a large gate.

XXX

Zabuza, Anko and Haku started when Gato screamed terrified, before falling limply. Sakura smirked, Sasuke was sneering, and Naruto was snickering darkly.

"I actually got it on tape too!"

"Great! I so have to watch that again!"

"Indeed."

Anko and Zabuza looked at each other, shrugged, and tore into the now unsure mob before they could say a thing. Haku looked at his three new somewhat-friends, and they shrugged.

XXX

"No."

"Yes."

"Nope."

"Yup."

"What are you going on about now?" Naruto wondered, smacking his two teammates at the back of their heads.

"Sakura wants to build a ship."

"Sasuke doesn't want me to build a ship."

The two of them glared childishly at each other, and Naruto raised one eyebrow calmly.

"We've got one week. Go make a ship, Sakura. Here are some chakra tags, to make shadow clones. Scimitar is also very efficient in cutting stuff."

"Meow."

"Yay! Thanks Naruto!"

"Hn. What can I do, then?" Sasuke pouted. Naruto shrugged. "Help Tazuna with the bridge, play matchmaker between Zabuza and Anko, spar with Haku, make dinner with Tsunami…there are lots of things!" He exclaimed. Sasuke blinked.

"Oh. Say, Naruto, what are you doing?" He wondered. The blonde yawned. "Working on my tags, and all the aforementioned things. Also, have you seen Fuzzy? He isn't in Tsunami's cupboards anymore…"

Sasuke gained a deadpan look. "Right. No, I haven't seen him."

"Damn. Stupid cat. It's because it's Russian, I'm sure!"

"What is Russian?"

"Russia. It's a place."

"It is?"

"Yeah."

"…Oh. Where?"

"Dunno."

"…"

XXX

Anko looked at Team 7 critically. "…So, what've you done this time?" She finally demanded. Sakura grinned innocently, which didn't really work considering the fact that she was wearing a dusty blue overall, with several building items in her pockets.

Sasuke was deadpanning. He…looked just as usual.

Naruto was grinning brightly, clothed in an overall as well, though his was a bit less dusty and crimson red.

"Built a ship, of course! In case we'll ever need it." The blonde explained patiently. Anko blinked. "Say what?"

"Shadow clones, we, and Scimitar have been making a ship. A galleon." Sakura smiled happily, ignoring a lock of hair that was tickling her hair.

"Why would ya brats need a ship?" Zabuza wondered, coming from the main room. Naruto shrugged. "You'll never know when you might need one. Come see! It's pretty cool, if I may say so myself… Sakura is an expert in boat-building!"

"…That's kinda strange, brat." Zabuza pointed out, and gained a tick when Naruto ignored him and disappeared in dark blue smoke. Sasuke smirked. "We are strange, right, navigator?" He waved flippantly and disappeared in the same blue smoke.

Sakura huffed, irritated. "Oh come on, they always leave like that! Anyway, if ya wanna see my ship, follow!" She grinned, and dashed off. Anko and Zabuza looked at each other, before promptly following.

XXX

"No way! You built this in a week?" Anko was gaping at the large ship floating in the water. Sakura nodded happily. "This is the Wicked Innocence! She is about 50 meters long, with 32 cannons. I reckon she'll be quite fast!" She thought out loud.

Zabuza studied the Innocence curiously. It was painted black, with dark crimson edges. Its sails seemed to be tie-dyed black and crimson, curiously enough. What got most of his attention, however, was the Jolly Roger tied around the mast.

The skull had one open eye, one closed, however that was managed, and stuck out its tongue. On its cheeks were six whisker marks, and the open eye had the signature red and black swirl of the Uchiha's sharinghan. A wide, black hat with a pink feather sat on the skull. Lastly, a sheathed katana lay vertically underneath.

"What do you think of our Jolly Roger? Unique?" Sasuke chuckled. Zabuza raised one eyebrow. "Definitely unique. But really, pirates?" He snorted. "Eh, we were it one time. Or two. No, I think it was just one." Sasuke mused.

"It probably seemed like two to you, since you were drunk half the time!" Sakura shouted from where she stood by the main mast. Naruto suddenly appeared right besides her, grinning.

"In any case, Tazuna should be finished with the bridge tomorrow, so we'll be taking the Innocence with us!" He decided. Zabuza looked at Anko enquiringly, where she just shrugged. "The brat's a seal master, don't ask me how." She snorted.

"…Right."

XXX

Naruto grinned and pumped his fist in the air. Anko and the two new companions looked curiously at him. "What? They named the bridge! It's named the Team Awesome Bridge!" He declared.

"…One: How did you know? Two: I thought you were team 7 or team we're-awesomer-than-you'll-ever-be?" Anko pointed out. Naruto waved his hand. "That's too long for a bridge. And hey, I got a stuffed fox in my stomach, I do get some benefits. Heightened senses and so on."

"Fox stuffed in your stomach. I don't think fluffy would appreciate being called a stuffed fox."

"He probably wouldn't like being called fluffy either."

"Nah, he wants me to call him Great Lord Kyuubi of the Demon fox clan. But that's too long!"

"Yah, it IS too long…"

Zabuza twitched, while Haku just giggled at the strangeness off their new friends.

"So the brat's a jinchuuriki?" The bigger man questioned. Anko nodded. "Yeah, he is. So he's pretty ostracized, but I don't think he cares. Those other two brats are always with him as well, so he's not lonely, in any case. Between us, I think he's more loony than lonely."

"…I'm starting to regret ever coming with…"

"Now, now, Zabuza. You'll see everything will go fine."

"I'll believe it when I see it! Hah!"

"Are everyone in Konoha total loonies?"

Anko stopped laughing to blink thoughtfully. "Eh, more or less. The civilians are a bunch of hypocritical jackasses, the chunin are mostly stupid, the jonin are pretty cool, though some are a bit too arrogant, and the ANBU… well, they're just really silent. They're ANBU after all."

Naruto snorted. "People fear what they don't understand, that's what's wrong with the civilians. The chunin are like most chunin I've seen, which are many, and the jonin are cool. The ANBU are awesome. The genin…well, they're genin. They're not loony enough yet to gain an opinion." He explained.

Zabuza palmed his face.

XXX

"Black."

"Red."

"Black."

"Red."

"Bla-?"

"PINK!"

"…Purple, then."

"How can red and pink become purple?"

"Because I say so."

"That's not really a reason, is it?"

"Of course it is! Besides, pink can be purplish, so if you then mix a purplish pink and a purplish red, it'll be purple!"

"Why the hell are you brats going on about colors anyway?" Anko demanded, exasperated. Naruto blinked. "I have no idea." He replied, breathing out smoke that circled around the purple-haired jonin. "Hey, cut that out, brat! I don't want second-hand smoke." She grumbled.

"Well, it isn't really that when you don't breath it in, right? I control it, remember."

"Tch."

"Um, I think we're getting close to Konoha, everyone." Haku spoke up silently, and everyone blinked. "Oh, you're right." Sakura said, seeing the huge gates of the main road.

"Haku's always right when he says something. We've got to loosen him up a bit, right Captain?" Sasuke smirked. Naruto nodded solemnly, while Haku smiled tentatively. "And we better get him some more… male-ish clothing and a haircut too. Well, that is if you don't prefer being a cross dresser."

"Oh, no, please do." Haku nodded slightly, and glanced at his mentor, who shrugged. "Do as you want, we're not on the run anymore, Haku." He said gruffly.

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto grinned at Haku who suddenly felt a bit like a cornered animal.

XXX

"…But then they named the bridge after the whole team instead, but that's just as good, right? So now we don't need to get another bridge for my teammates!" Naruto finished his explanation, and was faced with the Hokage looking quite incredulous.

"Oh, and Haku and Zabuza are under Uzumaki-Namikaze clan protection, which means there are more people in the clan, allowing me to inhabit the compound! So gimme the key, if you'd please."

Anko was silently snickering at the old Hokage's look of annoyance.

"Here, Naruto. Now will you please stay in the village with a minimal amount of trouble in at least a week? Oh, and you two, Zabuza can't go armed outside of training grounds in three months." With a curt nod to all of them, the Hokage proceeded to…ignore them.

"Bye, old man!" Naruto waved with a grin and leapt out the window, Sasuke and Sakura following. Anko jumped out as well, remembering to direct Zabuza and Haku to the Namikaze-Uzumaki compound that Minato Namikaze had made for future generations.

XXX

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura looked at Haku from all angles.

"Hm…better…"

"Mhm… but something's missing…"

"Like this!"

Haku stood somewhat embarrassed at their stares. They had first taken him to get a haircut, and his hair was now somewhat layered, and no longer than just under his ears, though a bit longer in the neck.

He was wearing marine blue pants that cut off halfway down his calf, and a bit higher than usual grey-black sandals. He had a Chinese-styled, slightly darker, marine blue jacket with wide sleeves, and a grey-black belt around his waist with several pouches for senbon and herbs.

"How do you like it, Haku? I think it fits you." Naruto grinned lazily, and the feminine boy nodded with a smile. "It is very nice, thank you." He agreed. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I think we should get the belt and pouches in a lighter, blue though." He suggested.

Sakura waved some happily. "I already found some! Here, Haku!" She smiled.

They went out of the shop, and the three genin were surprised to see Kakashi there. "Oh…Hatake? What're ya doing here?" Naruto asked, blinking surprised though his sunglasses hid it.

"Looking for you." The tardy jonin replied calmly, his voice betraying nothing. Sakura tilted her head. "…Why? We've still got one week left of suspendment! …Or whatever it's named." She grinned cheerily.

"Not to forget that you NEVER search us out. It's kind of our job to search you out." Sasuke pointed out. Kakashi sighed, exasperated, and actually put away his book.

"Where have you been?" Was his first question. All three blinked, and Haku looked somewhat curiously at the strange jonin. 'Hatake? Kakashi Hatake? …He's nothing like I thought…' The blue-clad boy thought.

"Well, first we were at Yoi Suzume, where I really want to go now, actually."

"Yup, then we trained with Anko, she's awesome!"

"And last but not least, we went to a mission in Wave with Mitarashi, and gained two new allies." Naruto gestured to Haku, who gave a small smile to the exasperated jonin.

Kakashi frowned. "Who gave you permission to go with Anko?" He demanded. Naruto twirled his cig expertly in his fingers and breathed out. "The Hokage. It was our idea, not hers, by the way. You don't honestly think we would stay in our homes like some caged animals? If Mitarashi wouldn't train us, we would've found someone else." He explained patiently.

"Naruto, can't we just ditch him? I'm in serious need of some sake! Been too long, Captain!" Sasuke made a grimace, and glared sulkily at the silver-haired jonin.

"I vote for Sasuke's suggestion! We have to introduce Haku too!" Sakura added. Naruto put on a thinking pose. "Yeah, we do have to introduce Haku…so sorry, Hatake, but we got to go. Talk to us in a week, and we'd be really happy if you'd allow us to join the chunin exams too!" He exclaimed, and then they were all gone, including a confused Haku.

Kakashi groaned in annoyance.

XXX

**So, what do ya think? I kind of liked Haku's new appearance...which is why I chose it, obviously. This chapter's not as the others, because I've just been reading Kuroshitsuji and one of my favorite characters just died...er, I just read it, in any case. It's been a long time since that chapter came out. xD **

**Also, I've been roleplaying with some friends over the internet, which also confuses my Team Awesome inspiration. **

**Hope you still like it though! Please review!...! xD**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow, I wrote this chapter really fast! (In four hours) That's kinda strange... Hope you like! ^::^**

"Yo, Kakashi!"

Naruto waved flippantly as he and his team came to the meeting place by the small red bridge. Kakashi looked up from his book, annoyed.

"You should've been here half an hour ago."

"Well, we decided to give ya some of your own medicine."

"Be thankful we didn't wait several hours."

"Now, what was it we had a meeting about?"

Kakashi grunted irritably. "I talked with Anko, and decided to enter you three in the chunin exams. Write your names on these and deliver them tomorrow. Now we train. Sakura, Naruto, you should train on chakra control. Sasuke, come." He gestured to himself.

All three genin narrowed their eyes. "You aren't ditching us." Sakura said slowly, as if speaking to a child, while cracking her knuckles. Kakashi twitched slightly. "I'm not ditching you, but you two need to work on chakra control." He explained.

"Sakura has the best chakra control. I come second, and Naruto comes just behind me because he has much more chakra." Sasuke said flatly. Kakashi blinked.

"And besides that, we always train together. If you teach something to one of us, we'll teach it to the others." The dark-haired boy continued.

"Aye." Sakura nodded. "We are a team to the core." She said.

"If you don't want an actual team, get someone else, and give us to Anko." Naruto finished with a sneer.

"Hey, brats!" All four ninja turned at the gruff voice, and Kakashi's eyes widened at seeing Zabuza Momochi wearing a Konoha headband. "Zabuza! How are you doing? We haven't seen you or Haku in a week!" Sakura questioned.

"Tch, everything's fine. We've been looking around. I finally got Haku to do some exploring on his own." The tall and muscled man shrugged. "Hn, not very surprising." Sasuke smirked.

"Yeah, but blondie brat, I just wanted to ask if I could use your training grounds. They're kinda fancy." Zabuza grinned. Naruto snorted. "Sure. All the damage that you do will only disappear once you've finished. Seals are my specialty, ya know." He gave a thumbs-up, and Zabuza grinned before disappearing in a spiral of water.

"Your training grounds?" Kakashi asked dumbfounded. Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, my training grounds. The Uzumaki Namikaze compound has lots of them." He wiggled his fingers.

"…N-Namikaze…?"

"Didn't you know? Naruto's dad is the 4th Hokage."

"They look alike, though Naruto has his mother's face and attitude."

"How would you know what my mother acted like?"

"Time 3."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

XXX

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Kakashi?"

The Sandaime Hokage raised one eyebrow curiously at Kakashi's behavior. "Why didn't you tell me that Naruto was Sensei's son?" The silver-haired man demanded.

"I was honestly thinking you would figure it out yourself." The old man said dryly.

"Well, it's Kakashi. He only sees what he wants to see."

"Not a good trait for ninja."

"You better whip him into shape again, old Hokage-sama."

Both grown-ups turned to the window to see team 7 sitting on the windowsill. "Ah, team Awesome." Kakashi blinked at the title. "We were just talking about you." The Sandaime said.

"Yeah, we heard. We just came up to tell that we're going to hang out with Haku, since Kakashi ain't giving us any training." Naruto grinned, and vaulted backwards out of the window. Sasuke smirked and followed, while Sakura gave a small wave before doing the same.

"…What?" Kakashi was more or less speechless. The Hokage chuckled. "Team Awesome aren't quite as you thought they were." He offered as an explanation.

"Why do you call them that?"

"Team Awesome? It's what they are called. Or rather, Team We're-awesomer-than-you'll-ever-be."

"…"

"It's one of their quirks."

"…"

XXX

"Haku!" Said boy blinked, as he was glomped by a pink-haired girl. "Oh, Sakura… Good morning." He smiled.

"Haku, you have to loosen up! Hi, by the way."

"Hn."

"Hello to you as well."

Both boys rolled their eyes at Haku's politeness. "What are you doing anyway?" Naruto wondered. Haku gestured to a weapons shop he stood in front of.

"I need more senbon." He explained. The three nodded, and Sakura let go of the feminine boy. He blinked as he looked at Sakura. "You changed your hairstyle?" He wondered.

The pink-haired girl nodded with a grin. "I changed my entire style!" She gestured.

Her hair was in a pixie cut, and made to stand out messily. She was wearing an off-white tube top, black shorts, and black and white bandages on her forearms and calves. Also, she had black sunglasses like Naruto, though she had them on her head.

"What do you think?" The pink-haired girl asked. Haku blinked. "It's certainly different. I think it suits you." He replied.

"Yay!"

"Shouldn't we go into the shop?"

"Might help with finding anything."

"Then let's go!"

"…"

XXX

Tenten was grumbling irritated as she looked through the weapons in her family shop to check for any damage or other that might ruin the quality. The reason she was pissed? Neji. The extremely haughty Hyuuga boy on her team.

"Claiming me useless, feh, stuck-up…"

"Ooh, so cool!"

"The scythe? You can't use a scythe."

"Can too! I used one at time 5, remember?"

"Oh, right. But this one's different."

"Not very."

"Sasuke, leave it alone, Sakura doesn't have any big weapon anyway. You got enough money for it? It's expensive."

"Aww, I don't."

"Eh, I'll borrow you some of mine then. I've got lots of money anyway."

"Perhaps you should be a bit more… silent?"

"Nah, calm down, Haku. We are loud."

Tenten blinked at the conversation she heard and turned the corner to see four teens, whereas one of them was looking adoringly at a black and white scythe.

"Err, excuse me, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Are you sure you can handle that? I helped making it, and it's damn heavy." The bun-haired girl warned.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure." The pink-haired girl nodded enthusiastically. Tenten raised one eyebrow, and the girl pouted. "Look!" She said, and grabbed the scythe, hefting it easily from it's place and twirling it elegantly, mindful of all the other tools in the shop.

Tenten gaped.

"Ne, you're Tenten, right? You're on team with asshole Neji." Naruto mused. Tenten snorted. "Yeah, that's right. What about it?" She wondered. Naruto shrugged. "We'll surely meet in the chunin exams." He grinned foxily.

"You in the chunin exams? That's dangerous you know! You're one of the rookie teams too!" The Chinese-clad girl said.

"Ah, but team Awesome will triumph! We're just confusing enough to do that." Naruto laughed.

"Hn. Captain's right."

"Yup!"

"I think you better watch out, Tenten. They are indeed quite confusing."

"Uh…"

XXX

"Hey Kakashi? You look tired?" Asuma Sarutobi looked at the silver-haired ninja with a raised eyebrow.

"Have you seen my team? They disappeared again."

"…I saw them at the weapon shop." Asuma said slowly. Kakashi nodded irritably and headed towards said shop.

"What's gotten into him…?"

XXX

"Naruto! Sasuke! Sakura!" Kakashi called sternly, and all three blinked as they looked at their silver-haired teacher. "…Whaaaat?" Sakura dragged it out, hefting a large scythe on her shoulder.

"Meeting. Now." Kakashi said firmly, his steely gaze challenging anyone to oppose him.

"…Where?"

"Uchiha Compound."

"Why my place?"

"Because. Now move."

"Hn."

"Let's go!"

"Aye, Captain!"

XXX

"First, tell me EXACTLY your names, likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams."

"…Okay! I'm Sakura Haruno, I like too much stuff to list, though they include having fun, building ships, stealing candy from kids and giving it back. I dislike less stuff, but still too much to list, though it includes purple clouds-"

"Yeah, that one was awful…"

"- And stupid stuff. My hobbies are hanging out with Sasuke and Naruto, freaking out people, building ships and other crazy stuff. My dream… eh, I forgot. I've had too many of them."

Kakashi looked incredulously at the cheerful pixie-like girl, and sighed.

"My turn! I'm Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, and I like lots! Including poker, fun, and craziness, being a pirate, Kyuubi, Sasuke and Sakura. I dislike lots too, like flying pigs-"

"But that was awesome!"

"-And evil masterminds of eternal doom. My hobbies include hanging out with my team, training, having fun, and playing poker. My dream is to be even more amazing than I already am! ... I think. It might change."

Kakashi face-palmed.

"Hn. Sasuke Uchiha, I like tomatoes, those two, Itachi, hypnotic stuff, and butterflies. I dislike spicy stuff, walls, fangirls, and stuffy stuff. My hobbies are mostly the same as those two… and my dream is to become the head of the new world, after destroying it with Madara-"

"You did that the 8th time!"

"-Uchiha… Fine then, I dream to follow those two."

Kakashi rubbed the sides of his forehead. "What the hell happened to you three? You weren't like this when we first met." He pointed out. Sakura patted his head, to her teammates amusement.

"We came back a little late. The world had just been ruined, so I think we might've done something wrong in our grief." She explained.

"Are you saying you've traveled in time?" Kakashi demanded incredulously.

"Oh yes, frequently!"

"It's quite fun."

"Once, we were the villains!"

"Twice. Only the second time we hid ourselves a bit better."

"Oh yeah."

"…That reminds me, Kakashi-sensei followed us the two last times! …Something must've gone wrong since you're not crazy."

Kakashi twitched. "You're not making any sense."

"Sure we are!"

"No you're not."

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Why are we arguing like children?"

Kakashi and Sakura looked at Naruto who had one eyebrow raised. Sasuke snickered. "We usually act like that before we're completely sent back. Maybe Kakashi did follow after all!" He cheered, completely out of character.

"I'm ceasing to be myself to become another myself?"

"…More or less."

"…What the hell's with this tingly feeling?"

"…What you first said."

"…Well damn."

"Nice choice of words, sensei."

XXX

Sasuke poked the downed Kakashi carefully with a stick.

"Don't do that!"

"Oh, you're awake."

"…Oh, I'm awake!"

The three genin gave him a dry look. "That's our sensei alright."

"Yup! How long have you been back?"

"Over a month."

"Whaaat? No fair. Bet old Kakashi didn't understand much?"

"Yeah, you were exactly as usual. Good thing we've dragged you back the last two times though, so we didn't have to endure it long."

"…I feel loved."

"Good for you."

Anyone that would have come upon the party of four would have been confused out of their minds, but luckily, none were there to hear the conversation between the confusing team Awesome.

"So…if you've been here a month, at what point in time are we now?"

"Chunin exams tomorrow."

"I see. I got to be extremely confusing then, to make up for the time I was gone."

"Sure. Ya want some sunglasses?"

"Yes please."

"Here ya go."

XXX

"Shikamaru! Now their sensei has gone mad too!"

Shikamaru lifted his head and blinked blearily at Ino. "What? Which sensei?" He questioned with a yawn. "Kakashi! He's having a sleeping contest with Naruto on the power line!"

Shikamaru ignored the frantic girl to go back to sleep.

XXX

"So, who do you think is going to win?"

"Kakashi for sure. He's too lazy not to."

"I'm betting Naruto."

"Hm…"

"Let's up the difficulty. Sakura, do your thing."

"Aye, First mate!"

All the chunin, jonin and foreign nin looked on as Naruto and Kakashi slept on the power line, Naruto hanging as if he lied on a branch, Kakashi lying on his back with his arms behind his head. Sakura leapt up and begun trying to disturb the two back to life, but they didn't move a muscle.

"This village… is strange." A redheaded genin from Suna declared in his monotone voice. His two teammates, his elder siblings nodded mutely, while their sensei was over with the Konoha ninja, betting.

"Oh, it's not the village that is strange, it's just us. The village is a normal, hypocritical, and plain stupid place." The three turned to see Naruto speaking to them, and blinked, looking up to where he was still sleeping.

"That's just a clone. No wait; I'm the clone… Or…am I? Damn, I forgot! Sasuke, am I a clone or the real one?"

"A clone."

"Okay! Anyway, as I was saying, it's just we that are strange. I'm Naruto, by the way."

"…My name is Sabaku no Gaara." The redhead said, somewhat unnerved by the strange blonde. The Naruto clone blinked. "…Oh! I think this is the first time I haven't run into Kankuro when we first met!" He exclaimed.

"Run into me? I haven't ever seen you, brat." Kankuro said, confused. Naruto clone nodded. "Not yet." He agreed. The oldest blonde waved her hand. "Wait just a minute! How did you know his name anyway?" She demanded.

"…Just as I know yours, Temari! I did know Gaara's name too, but I love hearing him say 'my name is Sabaku no Gaara.' It sounds awesome."

Gaara blinked. He was rarely complimented, and never for such a strange reason. "…You are strange… but I think I won't kill you." He decided.

"That practically means you see me as a friend! Great! Please don't kill my friends either." Naruto clone said in all seriousness. Gaara nodded slowly. "Perhaps I won't." He allowed.

A chorus of cheers and disappointed groans rang as Kakashi awoke on the power line. "Damn, I lost. Oh well." He shrugged, and leapt down to the ground. Sakura grinned and finger flicked Naruto, causing him to fall on the ground. "…That wasn't really nice." He muttered as he rose and brushed some dust of his clothes and put his sunglasses back in place.

"Naruto! I found the Sand sibs!" Naruto clone grinned, pointing at the team of siblings. Naruto grinned too, walking over to them. A poke in the eye made the clone disappear.

"Sakura, don't do that! It hurts!" Naruto whined with a pout. Sakura poked him with her new scythe. "I could use this one instead." She suggested brightly.

"Please don't, or he'll use me for his kawarimi. Again." Sasuke interfered, crossing his arms.

Naruto quickly lit a cigarette, and allowed his smoke to smash his two teammates into the ground, without needing to do it himself. "Okay, let's do a reintroduction. I'm Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. That's Sasuke Uchiha, and that's Sakura Haruno."

The Sand sibs blinked. "Namikaze?" "Jinchuuriki?" "Kyuubi?"

"Yup."

Both of Gaara's siblings grabbed Naruto's teammates and hauled them off, leaving the two jinchuurikis alone. "You are the Kyuubi jinchuuriki…? Why don't they hate you?" Gaara questioned silently. Naruto shrugged. "The village hates me. But some people don't. Sakura and Sasuke used to hate me too, but we grew to become siblings after a while. Now, we simply can't be apart from each others, or we'll cause havoc." He explained.

Gaara was silent as he mused over the blonde's words.

XXX

If he's the container of the beast that almost destroyed Konoha, how come you don't hate him?" Temari demanded. Sakura blinked.

"Konoha's a stupid place. Though fun… Couldn't really care less about it. I used to hate him, but we became siblings after a while. I dunno how to explain it, really. Why?" The pink-haired girl questioned.

Temari frowned. "…Everyone hates Gaara, because he is the Ichibi jinchuuriki." She revealed. Sakura shrugged. "I know that. That's why Naruto wants to be friends with him. I want to, too. All that hate can wear a person down." She mused.

"…"

XXX

"Why don't you hate blondie?" Kankuro wondered. Sasuke snorted. "I can't explain that. We're like siblings, but that's a bond forged through many troubles and times." He shrugged.

"Hm. Gaara hates everyone, and everyone hates him. Why isn't blondie like that?" The black-clad boy asked. Sasuke shrugged again. "Because he has people there for him. Naruto almost broke, but then he gained friends, and things looked up." He explained.

"I see…"

"Hn."

XXX

"So, do you three have a place to stay yet?" Naruto questioned, breathing out a cloud of smoke. Gaara shook his head silently.

"Then stay at my place! My compound's pretty big, though only I, two friends of ours, and sometimes Sasuke and Sakura live there."

"…We are grateful for the offer…" Gaara said.

"I think that's an agreement."

"Yeah, I think so too."

"Come, and I'll show you guys around! … Tell your sensei you'll be gone for a while."

"Eh, we usually disappear a lot, he won't worry."

"Okay, then let's go; to the next adventure!"

"Sakura, you've been reading too much fantasy again."

"…Have not."

"Have too."

"Have not!"

"Have too!"

"Have not!"

"Have too!"

"Shut up, the both of you!"

XXX

**And so the sand siblings appear, Kakashi's gone crazy as well, and Shikamaru's ignoring Ino. I dunno where I get the inspiration for all this craziness. And I do wonder where Fuzzy, Scimitar and Coricopat went. Also, I have no explanation for Sakura's random style change. **

**...xD Please review. XD**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yay, another a-a-a chapter! Sorry, I probably should've updated one of the other ones...but this one is so fun to write!**

**Thanks to all that have reviewed and put this story on alert and favorite. It's nice to know my writing is appreciated. Also, thanks to those who have given me ideas to use in the story! ^::^**

**Enjoy.**

Many a ninja had been quite confused when they talked with the Hokage. Probably because he had a grey cat on his head. Which had his hat on top of its head.

"Hey, old man, have you seen…! Oh… never mind." Naruto blinked as he saw his ninja cat lying comfortably on the Sandaime's head.

"You were saying, Naruto?"

"…Well, I was looking for Fuzzy… and I've got guests at the mansion!"

"I see."

"Great! See ya later! By the way, Fuzzy eats paperwork, so you might think about being careful."

"…Of course… I'll be… careful."

The Hokage rubbed his hands with glee.

"I'm still here."

"Oh right! Well, off you go, Naruto."

"…Okay!"

XXX

Naruto arrived at his mansion as a cloud of smoke, and blinked when he saw Sasuke and Gaara stare at Sakura, who was at the helm of the Wicked Innocence, which was situated… in a puddle.

Sakura had a wide black hat with a pink feather on her head, exactly the same as the one on their Jolly Roger. She waved gleefully as she turned the wheel slightly.

"It's like an ocean once you're on the ship!" She hollered. Sasuke turned to Naruto, who grinned.

"It's a seal-made puddle. With a few extra knick-knack illusion-like tricks. So… if ya want to sail some, just head out."

Naruto put his sunglasses in his pocket, and drew forth a tricorne hat that he promptly put on his head and leapt up.

"I'm captain! Go find our course, if you'd please."

"Aye, aye, captain!"

Sasuke blinked, sighed, and then grinned as he got a dark blue bandanna and tied it around his head. A bottle of rum got into his hand somehow, though Gaara couldn't even see him move.

"Wait for me, captain!"

Gaara watched Naruto order his two teammates around jovially, as he stood proudly by the wheel. Blinking slowly, he allowed his sand to lift him to stand beside the blonde.

"…Captain… May I… be of any help?"

The three pirate-like ninja stopped what they were doing to stare, before Naruto grinned, fished up a black and gray bandanna, and put it on Gaara's head.

"Of course, matey! First mate, show Gaara how to tie the ropes and get out the sails!"

"Aye, aye, captain!"

XXX

"…What…the…hell?"

"Yeah."

"Gaara… is playing pirate… on a ship… in a puddle?"

"…With those crazy guys."

"Yes, with those crazy guys…"

"These crazy guys can hear you! Besides, we're not playing. We _are_ pirates."

"…Right. Uh, I think we'll… go find Baki!"

"Aye, you do that."

"…"

XXX

"Yo."

"Kakashi? Hi… again!"

"What are you doing here?"

"…Nice greeting. Anyway, I was wondering, did I give you the chunin exam forms? I haven't assimilated all of other me's memories yet."

"Yeah, you did. Want to eat dinner with us? We're having Okonomiyaki!"

"…Yes, I think I'd like to, very much. Oh, hi, Gaara. I'm these three's sensei."

"…Interesting…I shall not kill you either, then."

"Thank you!"

Kakashi grinned happily, though it was not very visible against his mask. Gaara tilted his head curiously at the jovial man. "You are very different from the jonin of Suna." He mused.

Kakashi blinked lazily. "How so?" He wondered. Gaara snorted silently. "You are not trying to act dangerous, or emotionless. It is… refreshing."

"That's our sensei alright!" Naruto grinned, patting Kakashi on the back. Said sensei made a grunt as he fell to the floor. "Meanie." He muttered, rolling so he could stand up beside the boy, and then knocking him into the floor, whistling.

"Hey Gaara. Baki said we were free to stay, as long as we don't make trouble." Temari said as she came around a corner. She looked vaguely confused at seeing him with the bandanna he had gotten from Naruto.

"Very well." Gaara nodded. "When will dinner be ready, captain?"

"I dunno. 10 minutes, maybe? I've never made Okonomiyaki before." Naruto shrugged, grinning sheepishly. Temari looked wary. "You're going to feed us with experimental food?" She demanded.

Sakura knocked her on the head. "Naruto's food is heavenly! Whether it be experimental or not!" She declared. Naruto chuckled, and rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm going to begin making it, anyway."

"Yeah! Hurry up, captain!"

"Aye!"

XXX

"T-This is…"

"Heaven!"

"…It is indeed very tasteful."

"Mmm!"

"Good job Naruto… more please?"

"Hn."

"Thank you all, it's good to know I can cook!"

"Hey, brat. Could I and Haku have some too?"

"Of course, Zabuza! Uh, why are you all scratched up?"

Zabuza twitched irritably, pointing at Sakura. "Her cat." He retorted. Kankuro snorted. "The mighty Zabuza Momochi, done in by a cat?" Zabuza tossed a glare in his direction. "You haven't met the brats' cats yet, have you? I'll laugh when you do." He grinned.

"They're not that bad!" Naruto protested. Kakashi tossed him a sidelong glance. "If you're talking about Fuzzy, Cori and Scimi, yes they are." He nodded sagely.

"…Jerks." Naruto pouted, before standing up and fetching two plates for Zabuza and Haku. "Here you go."

"Say, Naruto, what'll we do tomorrow?" Sasuke questioned, chewing contently. The blonde grinned, reminiscent of the bijuu residing within him. "We confuse." He said.

Sakura grinned. "Which style? Pirate, Hellsing, Jigoku Shojo…?" She wondered giddily. Everyone else than Kakashi blinked curiously. Sasuke tapped his fingers on the table. "What about Hellsing? I like Hellsing." He said.

"Yes, that is awesome indeed… but I haven't fixed my guns yet."

"What about Jigoku Shojo? Please?" Sakura gave Naruto the puppy eyes, and he bonked her on the head. "Maybe. It is fun."

"…I… like… the pirate theme." Gaara injected silently. Everyone blinked. Naruto got into a thinking pose, stroking his chin as if he had a beard. "Ah, so many choices, only one to be chosen…give me reasons."

Sasuke sat up with a slight grin. "Well, Hellsing are totally badass. And I haven't used my wire tricks in a long time. Also, it gives off a sense of dangerous." He explained.

Sakura put her chin on her hand. "Jigoku Shojo also gives off a dangerous, or at least be wary feeling. And it can totally creep out people. And we can joke around with people's heads." She grinned.

Gaara blinked slowly, and tilted his head. "…Pirates are interesting, and unexpected. As few have ever seen proper pirates, it will be thoroughly confusing, and Uchiha can be drunk." He justified thoughtfully. Temari and Kankuro gawked at him.

Naruto tightened his lips in annoyance, before grinning. "Fine! We'll all go different!" He decided. "Sakura, you can be Jigoku Shojo. Sasuke, you can go get your gloves, and the rest of your suit too. Gaara, come with me and I'll find you a proper pirate suit. As for me… I'm going to go Stray Dog!"

"Yay!"

XXX

Temari and Kankuro waited anxiously to see how their little brother would look in 'pirate gear'. They blinked when Naruto dragged him out to the main room.

Gaara had long, black sea boots, and faded black linen pants. A white sash was tied around his waist, where a pistol was tucked neatly. A loose, off-white shirt with a brownish-black waistcoat finished the top half, with two light and dark brown belts respectively hanging off his left shoulder and around his waist. A sword hung in the belt around his waist. The black and gray bandanna was still on his head.

"…What… do you think?" The redhead asked carefully, tilting his head. Temari grinned. "You look great, Gaara! And confusing, actually." She nodded. Kankuro smirked. "Interesting look, maybe you should use it more often." He agreed.

"I knew you'd look awesome like a pirate! Of course, the gourd would crash with the image, so you should store your sand in the seals on the clothing, like I showed you." Naruto explained. Gaara nodded.

"Do I look alright?" Sakura came in, smiling. She was wearing a black and white seifuku, the skirt going to just above her knees, and the shirt having long sleeves. A red ribbon was tied to the front. Her hair had been dyed black, and tamed to lie limply around her face. The formerly pink haired girl allowed the smile to slip from her face, and Naruto nodded in approval at the emotionless look she donned.

"Just great, Sakura! I think you should keep the green eyes, it throws it off a bit, and confuses people." The blonde mused.

Next was Sasuke. He came in wearing a full butler's suit, with the exception of an outer jacket. Thin black gloves on his hands gave off a slight gleam, and thin wires could be seen in the right light. He also had a monocle. "Heh, been a while since I was in this getup."

"Indeed. You look just fine though." Naruto grinned, before he suddenly turned to smoke. When he solidified again, he had changed clothes. He was wearing blue jeans with two guns sticking out from the pockets, a camo-patterned t-shirt, and a light green-ish trench coat. An eye patch sat snugly over his right eye.

"So, now that we've all decided how to look… I'm going to bed. Goodnight, ya'll!"

With that, Naruto disappeared.

"…It's only six in the afternoon."

XXX

"Rise and shine!"

"Shut up!"

"Naruto!"

"…Why are they complaining?"

"That's because they like to sleep, very much. I'll have to see if I can fix your seal sometime, so you can try sleeping too." Naruto mused, looking at the blank face of Gaara.

"I see. I would like that." The redhead nodded. Temari and Kankuro's heads popped out from two doors, and they blinked at seeing their usually homicidal brother clad in pirate clothing, with no gourd, and his hand clasped in Naruto's.

"Right. The chunin exam… what time is it?" The oldest blonde questioned, yawning. Naruto grinned impishly. "7 AM. The exam starts at 12." He winked, before running hurriedly, Gaara following curiously as all the occupants that had been sleeping got fire in their eyes.

XXX

Team Awesome and team Sand Sibs walked into the academy slowly, talking as if they'd known each other forever. When they came to the second floor, they all stopped to stare at the rather bad genjutsu that had a crowd of genin standing around.

"I still don't get how I fell for that the first time." Naruto blinked, tipping his cigarette to the side. Sasuke and Sakura snorted simultaneously. "You were not insane yet." They replied.

"Ah, right."

"Naruto, May I…?" Sasuke grinned slightly and nodded towards the two transformed genjutsu users. Naruto nodded, and Sasuke stepped slightly away from his team and somewhat friends.

A toss of his hands, and the two guarding the entrance were suddenly tied together tightly, looking rather shocked. "Why don't you gentlemen lift your genjutsu? Or would you rather end up in pieces?" Sasuke said, smirking.

"Err, release!" The one with bandages on his face hurriedly said, and the sign over the classroom melted away. There was a great deal of grumbling, before everyone trickled up to the next floor.

"You there, what's your name?"

Sasuke turned towards the longhaired Neji, and waved hello to the disgruntled Tenten. "I am Sasuke Uchiha, a pleasure to meet you." The raven-haired boy bowed theatrically.

"Sasuke. We're headed up." Naruto drawled, blowing out some smoke. Sasuke nodded, and walked to them. "Of course."

Neji narrowed his eyes after the last loyal Uchiha, while Tenten smirked. Rock Lee looked rather fired up.

XXX

"Boo."

Ino screamed as Sasuke snickered at her, and she hid behind Shikamaru. "Why, I thought you loved me, Ino." The monocle-wearing boy smirked. Ino looked warily at him. "I love the cool Sasuke Uchiha! Not… Not an insane one!"

"How ridiculous." Sakura's monotone voice drawled, and Ino's eyes got even wider as she saw the somewhat creepy-looking girl. "S-Sakura?"

"Wahoo, we found you!" Kiba suddenly shouted, and then went silent as he saw the strange group. Naruto waved lazily, breathing out a cloud of smoke on the dog boy.

"That was about time, Kiba." He sneered playfully. "Naruto…? Did something happen to your eye, dobe?" The brunette boy asked. The blonde pulled the eye patch to show a misty white eye. "Doesn't it seem so?" He retorted.

Sasuke snorted. "Naruto was blinded once, but he can will it away with the help of Kyuubi." He said silently to the sand sibs who nodded.

"Oh no, N-Naruto!" Hinata exclaimed, eyes wide. The blonde let go of the patch, causing it to snap back in place. "Yeah? Something wrong? It's not as if it is a problem." He shrugged.

"You rookies are making a lot of noise, here." A snide, yet mild voice commented, and they all turned to see Kabuto Yakushi. Sakura allowed her stare to go more intense, while Sasuke looked warily at the white-haired boy. Naruto breathed out some more smoke, making the purple-clad boy cough.

"So what?" He asked flatly. Kabuto frowned. "You'll attract a lot of bad attention, that way." He clarified.

"That does not concern us." Sasuke replied, playing with his wires. Sakura merely stared.

"Anyway, I'll share some info with you cute little rookies, with my ninja info cards. Who do you want to know about?" Kabuto smirked. Kiba pointed on the four strangely clad genin.

"Um, okay. Let me see. The redhead is Sabaku no Gaara. He is known to not ever have gotten a scratch on any mission, of which his highest is an A-rank. He uses sand as a weapon."

"Next is the girl. Sakura Haruno… what?" Kabuto blinked, as the only thing that showed up on the card was a flame crest. "…" Sakura stared coolly.

"Well, next is Sasuke Uchiha. He's very skilled in all aspects, and his highest is an A-rank. He… also likes to stay drunk?"

"Lastly, Naruto Uzumaki. No info on skills, but if one is to go by words, he is very good with seals. His highest is an A-rank. Warning, he tends to have dangerous and unexpected weapons."

"Like this one?" Kabuto started when cool metal tapped his nose, and he looked up to see Naruto holding one of his guns. He swallowed slowly, and breathed out in relief when the blonde snorted and put the gun in his pocket.

"What kind of weapon is that?" Kiba exclaimed. Naruto sneered at him. "Haven't you ever seen a gun? Say hi to my MAC-10." He lifted the gun so Kiba could see it. The dog boy was understandably confused.

"Shut up and sit down! The first exam starts now!" A booming voice shouted, as several ninja appeared together with a huge, scarred man.

"I am the first proctor, now get to your assigned seats!"

XXX

Ibiki twitched.

A snicker rang around in the room, child-like and innocent.

A thin sheet of smoke covered every part of the room, though only a select few coughed as they inhaled it.

Ino Yamanaka was stiff as a board, as her eyes roamed the room ever so often. At one time, she looked horrified, before settling back into her wary state.

The emotionless, green-eyed girl had been staring at Ibiki _the__entire__time_. He was kind of unnerved.

Some of the watching chunin lost pieces of their clothing.

"Okay, time's up!" Ibiki yelled, and blinked as everything went back to normal.

"…Now it's time for the tenth question. But there is a catch…"

"If we answer incorrectly, we'll be permanently banned from the exams!" A grinning Naruto supplied. Ibiki glared. "Yes. The blonde is correct."

After some objections, and a lot of teams trickling out, Sakura tilted her head ever so slowly. "Why do you leave? I see not your reasoning." She drawled silently.

Silence.

"Well, Morino? The tenth question?" Naruto grinned. Ibiki nearly growled.

"None more wish to leave? No? Good! You all pass."

"WHAT?"

"No time for rejoicing!" A black ball flew through the window, and a banner flew up just as Anko Mitarashi herself came in after the ball. "Anko Mitarashi is here! Oh, they're quite a lot, Ibiki." She pointed out.

The scarred man scowled, disgruntled. "It's those fancy-looking brats' fault." He muttered. Anko laughed. "I knew I could count on you three to make confusion! Anyway ya'll, head over to the Forest of Death! I'm going to cut this group in two at the least…"

"As long as you don't cut us in two!"

"Shut up, brat! I'll do it if I want to."

"…Fine."

XXX

"So… why is this place named the Forest of Death?" Temari asked carefully, looking into the dark, fenced in forest. Naruto shrugged, lighting another cigarette. "It's easy to die in there. The animals are very mutated, the trees are huge, and it's dark and dreary. I think that's why." He replied.

The older blonde wrinkled her nose. "Sounds nice." She said dryly. Gaara and Kankuro nodded in agreement. "Naruto… how do one operate this gun?" The redhead asked, pulling said gun out of his sash. Naruto blinked.

"That's easy. See there, that locks it, so it can't shoot. Do this, and the lock's gone. You've got several shots in this thing, though can't remember how many. In your right pocket are more bullets. Those bullets are very fast, so be careful. If you put that gun to someone's head, you'll blow it apart, in a shower of blood and gore. Well, pull this to shoot."

Gaara nodded, not at all disturbed by the 'blood and gore' notion. Temari and Kankuro glanced nervously at it, and Naruto grinned at them. "Don't worry, that gun's not all that dangerous. Mine are worse, they shoot many bullets at the same time, more speed, power and danger, really." He explained.

"Where do you get these things?" Kankuro demanded. The blonde made a thinking pose. "I didn't tell you? Strange. I'm a frequent time – and sometimes reality – traveler. That's how. It's really quite amazing. It's the reason we're all crazy too though."

"Can I come with you the next time?" Gaara asked.

"Of course!"

XXX

"Which scroll this time?"

"Heaven."

"How will we proceed, Naruto? I believe Orochimaru is in the forest again."

"Yes, yes…well, we'll just have to confuse him then! Big chance that he's going to make me lose my cig, and then I'll go nuts. That'll surprise him, so Sasuke can tie him up, and Sakura can send him to hell."

"…Or we just wing it."

"That sounds good too."

XXX

**xD I suppose this story could be listed as a massive crossover, but it really is just random insanity. I kinda like Pirate-Gaara! xP Poor Ino is petrified, and rightly so. Team Awesome just loves to confuse her, after all. **

**Please review, it makes me feel all tingly! xP That sounds strange. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Yes! I finally finished it! Damn, this chapter turned out longer than I intended... but I suppose that is just as well. I have to make up for my long absence somehow. Hope you like.**

"Holy flying shit!" Sakura exclaimed uncharacteristically – well, uncharacteristically for her look, anyway – as she dodged Orochimaru's tongue.

Yes, his tongue.

A clicking noise had the currently black-haired girl leap away as Naruto tried to hit Orochimaru with his guns. The longhaired man seemed fascinated by the weapons, but he didn't seem to like having to dodge them all the time.

"I'm pretty sure shit is unable to fly," Sasuke commented as he leapt onto the branch Sakura was standing on. She shrugged. "If you toss it, maybe it'd gain wings?" she suggested blandly.

"If you two are done discussing shit, could you help out a little? This slippery bastard may not be all that dangerous, but he sure is hard to kill," Naruto yelled, reloading his guns.

Orochimaru glared, eerie eyes flashing in annoyance. "My, such language," he commented in a chiding tone. All three looked incredulously at him. "What? Bastard's not a nice word!"

"I'm not even going to comment on that."

"You just did."

"Yes, thank you for your input, Sakura. Mind trying to send him to hell?"

"Why, of course."

Hands flashed through hand seals, and Orochimaru looked around curiously as his surroundings melted into others. "Genjutsu. An impressive one, I admit," he noted.

"We'll see how you like it then, shall we?"

Sakura's voice echoed around, and the yellow-eyed man raised an eyebrow as the surroundings changed into more morbid, darker ones. Was this supposed to be scary?

Sasuke and Naruto watched Orochimaru stare into the empty air with fascination. The blonde had a new cigarette in his mouth, while the brunette was polishing his monocle.

"He looks strangely like a lost kid like that."

"I suppose. A lost kid with sharp teeth and over a thousand ways to kill you."

"Bah, details."

"Hush, you! I can't concentrate with you two blabbering on!"

X

Naruto blew out a cloud of smoke, a half-annoyed expression on his face. Sakura coughed and glared at him. "Hey, no need to go apathetic!" she grumbled.

The blonde nodded. "I have a need to be apathetic. Orochimaru ran away, and I didn't get in more than one bullet in him, and that went right through his ear," he pouted.

Sasuke huffed. "Well, at least you didn't get bit. Good thing these gloves are stronger than they look," he mused, checking once more that his hand was free of bite marks.

"Well, we'll meet him again soon, so no sweat. Bet he'll be pissed off though," Sakura smirked. They shared a chuckle, and Naruto stretched. "Let's go find the other scroll, then we find the Sand Sibs, and finally, we'll find the tower. Sound good?"

"Aye, aye."

X

Gaara looked at the Ame ninja blankly. They had to be at least in their early twenties, and they still hadn't passed the chunin exams? And that manner too: absolutely stupid. He was curious about his new gun though. Blood and gore was something that fascinated him.

"I would make a comment about making it rain blood," he started. Kankuro and Temari looked at each other with a sort of frightened exasperation. "But I happen to have gotten a new weapon that needs testing."

The leader of the Ame trio scoffed arrogantly, even when Gaara pointed the gun at him, and pulled the trigger. The redhead nearly grinned when he saw a split-second of fear on his face, before it was ruined.

Perhaps he was still a bit bloodlust-insane. Oh well, maybe he'd fit in more with the lunatics calling themselves Team Awesome.

He liked that.

"Gaara!"

The Sand sibs turned to see Naruto waving with a grin, leaping from branch to branch and elegantly dropping to the forest floor. Sakura and Sasuke followed with exasperated looks.

"Captain." Gaara greeted, gaining weird looks from his siblings. "How'd you do? Did you use the gun?" the blonde wondered. Gaara nodded. "It was… different. I liked it," he decided.

"Not wanting to break this beautiful reunion, but shouldn't we head to the tower?"

"Oh, right. Well, come on!" Naruto had grabbed Gaara's hand, and was pulling the redhead with him. Temari leaned over to Sakura. "Is it just me, or does he seem a bit… gay?" she whispered. Sakura snorted. "He's bisexual. But that way of acting has nothing to do with that, its just Naruto," she explained.

Sasuke's monocle glinted as he tilted his head. "I'm quite sure, however, that Gaara might fall for his charm. He's done that some times by now," he smirked at Temari's half-concerned look.

"Hey, let it be, Temari. He's happy, that's what's best, right?" Kankuro said awkwardly. The blonde girl sighed and nodded. "I suppose," she agreed. Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other.

"Do you think…?"

"Yeah."

"Hm…"

"My thoughts exactly."

X

They reached the tower with a minimal amount of time. The only enemy team they encountered was shot, sliced and put in Genjutsu rather effectively. Temari and Kankuro were grateful that the insane genin were on their side.

Gaara was fascinated.

"We'll have to separate now, but we'll get some rooms close to each other in the tower. I'm pretty sure we are allowed to train in there, and there is also some other cool stuff. See ya." The eye-patch wearing Naruto waved and disappeared in the door.

Sakura and Sasuke followed, after giving a brief wave as well. Temari gave a half-hearted wave before herding her brothers to another door. "Come now, you can play with Naruto later, Gaara," she said.

Gaara gave a withering glare. "Don't patronize me. I'm not a child," he pouted rather cutely. Kankuro snorted with a crooked smile.

"But you are my littlest brother. Now come on."

"Hm."

X

"This place is _dull," _Naruto sighed. Sakura blinked. "Of course it is. Was it supposed to be anything else?" she wondered. Naruto glared, and she grinned innocently.

"Wow. You look… normal. Almost."

The trio turned to see Kankuro looking incredulously at them, Temari just behind, and Gaara simply looking curious. "Well, I got tired of being a Stray Dog. I'll stay teen for now, and I've an awesome idea for the finals!" Naruto grinned.

'Teen' consisted of low-riding, black jeans; a crimson t-shirt with graffiti letters saying Sanity is Overrated, and sunglasses. For Sakura, it was slim, ripped jeans in bright green, with a pink tank top, and her hair was pink again. Sasuke had gray jeans and a dark blue t-shirt, as well as a choker necklace.

They looked like an odd bunch; one boy clad in pirate gear, two older kids clad in normal shinobi gear, and three other kids clad in civilian-like, western clothes.

"Meow!"

Sakura looked up to see Scimitar come flying from nowhere – though he likely leapt from one of the hidden passages hidden in the tower. Yes, there were hidden passages.

"Scimitar! I've been looking for you, naughty," the pinkette exclaimed. The cat purred, and settled around her shoulders. Sasuke tilted his head. "Ah. Now we know why you didn't find him," he pointed out.

"Makes sense," Naruto agreed, bright blue eyes looking around for any more cats – or surprises – or surprising cats.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow at the lazy-looking calico. "Is that the cat that apparently mauled Momochi?" he wondered. All three nodded. "This here's Scimitar. He's Sakura's cat, a calico kitten with a penchant for being lazy. He hates being disturbed," Naruto explained.

The black-clad boy carefully reached out his hand towards the cat; somewhat unnerved by the tense stare it gave him. When his hand came close enough, the calico placed a paw on top of it, as if to say 'yeah, that's close enough, dude'.

"Rather intelligent, isn't it?" Temari noted. Sakura nodded. "Scimitar is as smart as can be! Though not as smart as Coricopat, but he's near a genius of cats, I think," she mused.

"Well, Coricopat is my cat," Sasuke said with a smirk.

"And I found and fixed him. Now let's go find something to do!"

"Why, I'm perfectly fine right here!"

"Well, I'm not. Let's find something!"

"Yeah, yeah."

X

Some days – they hadn't really bothered to count – had passed, and the last participants had come through the gates. The Sand sibs, Team Awesome, Team 8 and 10, a Sound team and Team Gai, as well as Kabuto's team had come through.

So now, they were all standing in the big hall, waiting for the coughing ninja to finish explaining the fighting rules. At last, everyone was ushered up to the balconies, and watched the big screen that would randomly match up names.

"Wonder if I can kill someone with my sunglasses?"

"Possibly an interesting method."

"Maybe by stabbing someone in the eye with it."

"…Perhaps you should sharpen it."

The other ninja looked strangely at Team Awesome and Gaara, who paid no attention to either them or the board.

"Hey, Uchiha! You're up first," Kankuro said, and the still civilian-clad boy looked at the board to see him matched up with a Yoroi Akado. He blinked slowly. "Would you look at that," he said.

"Get down there, kick his ass somehow, and get up again," Sakura said brightly. Sasuke nodded. "Nice plan. I like it!" he smirked, and leapt down into the ring.

"That was a plan?" Temari asked dryly. Naruto and Sakura looked incredulously at her. "Why, of course it is!" they both exclaimed. The blonde girl snorted, and shook her head in exasperation.

X

"What kind of clothing is that? You better give up before I beat you up, kid."

Sasuke raised one eyebrow, unimpressed. "Hypocrite," he retorted flatly. The proctor coughed – he really should get that cough looked at – and declared the match started.

The Uchiha blinked slowly as the other genin first jumped back. "Y'know, I think running away isn't the best way to win a fight," he noted dully. Akado just growled, and charged at him.

"I'm not in the mood for this. Coricopat, at him."

"Who the hell are you talking to, brat?"

"My cat."

Sasuke smirked when the purple-clad genin suddenly had a ferocious kitten in his face. "Aagh, get it off, get it off!" he yelled, trying to catch the fast animal.

"Cori. Lil' copycat."

Everyone blinked. What did that mean? They – excluding Team Awesome, Anko, and the Sand Sibs – watched in shock as the cat gave a final scratch before jumping into the air and blowing an actual fireball right in Akado's face.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow at Naruto. "Cats that can spit flames? Seriously?" he demanded. The blonde grinned. "That's just Cori. Fuzzy can't, and neither can Scimi," he waved his hand.

"That's so much better!"

"Yeah, isn't it?"

"…Moron."

"Why are you talking about yourself?"

"…You…!"

X

Naruto poked Sakura on the shoulder as they watched Sasuke and Cori turn to the stairs. "Sakura. Look there," he whispered, pointing over to team 8. Nothing seemed amiss with them, though.

"What?" she wondered. Naruto hissed in annoyance. "Hinata! Look at Hinata!" he specified. The pink-haired girl raised one eyebrow, but did as told.

The dark-haired girl was standing calmly… hm… her posture wasn't as slouching as it usually was? And she wasn't even fiddling with her fingers?

Oh. Of course.

"She's back too."

"Yes! I dunno how, she must've hooked onto us or our chakra somehow, but she's here! And that Hinata is freaking scary!"

"…Seriously?"

"Yes!"

Naruto looked deathly serious. Sakura glanced from him over to Hinata, who had just moments prior glanced at Naruto. "Oh. You're still afraid, just because she got a little angry that you never noticed her?" she smiled.

Naruto pouted cutely. "Not a _little_. A _much_ angry," he corrected.

"It's not a much. It's a lot," Sasuke smirked, and both his teammates glared, one because he corrected him, the other because he sneaked up on her.

"I'd just use very," Temari interjected, somewhat amused.

"Or very much," Kankuro said helpfully. Naruto gave them both a smoldering glare.

"Now it's that Zaku guy vs. Shino. Huh, think it's the original set-up this time?" Sakura wondered as she looked at the board with idle curiosity. Naruto looked up, face completely devoid of glare.

"Hm… if that's the case, you'll have your fun next battle. Do something unexpected!" he grinned. "Or do something so expected it'll be unexpected," Sasuke chimed in.

"Good ideas! I can't wait!"

"I think you better do so."

"Well, of course, but…"

"Hn."

"What've I said about that not-word!"

X

"Sakura."

"Ino! Nice to see you, it has been ages!"

Ino blinked several times at the whimsical smile plastered on Sakura's face. "What do you mean, ages? We saw each other before the forest!" the blonde insisted.

Sakura continued to smile. "Yes, ages ago. Honestly, don't you have any concept about time?" she questioned. Ino glowered irritably. "You're trying to tick me off!" she claimed.

The pinkette nodded. "When am I not?" she retorted. Ino huffed, and fisted her hands. "Well, no more! I refuse to be a source of amusement!" she declared.

Sakura's head tilted ever so slightly, giving her a look like a lost puppy.

"Start!"

"Watch out, Sakura! You'll lose!" Ino yelled, running towards her, ponytail flicking from side to side. Sakura smiled crookedly, and as soon as Ino was close enough, she vanished to appear behind the blonde.

"Where are you running off to?" she asked innocently, standing with her hands behind her back. Ino stopped, and span around in anger. "Stop doing that!" she growled, and gave a punch.

"No, no, no, _no_. Be careful, Ino," Sakura admonished, and pulled her hands forth, revealing that her hands had taken on a metallic quality, with the fingertips seemingly sharpened into points.

The pinkette sidestepped the punch, and grabbed Ino's arm with her metallic one. The blonde only had time to squeak before she was tossed into the wall.

"Be a bit careful, Sakura! The strength in those things aren't entirely calibrated yet!"

"I noticed!"

People looked from Naruto to Sakura in confusion. Calibrated? Her hands? What?

"Geez, how did you get something like that?" Ino wheezed, stumbling out from the dust cloud that was the result of her becoming more acquaintanced with the wall.

Sakura pointed at Naruto, who yelped and ducked. "Naruto has a habit of finding things. And making things. And combining those two," she said easily, with a small snicker.

"I'm not combining them! I'm mixing them! It's like… mixing together chocolate and cupcakes, gaining chocolate cupcakes!" Naruto claimed. "I'm pretty sure you'll get the same result by combining them," Sasuke snickered. Naruto glowered.

"_Anyway_, me and Sasuke, we're his guinea pigs," Sakura explained, while pointing all her metal-covered fingers at Ino, who froze. "…What are you doing now?" she asked hesitantly.

Sakura smiled sweetly.

"Knock-out darts."

"…The winner is Sakura!"

X

"Well, that went well," Sasuke said lightly as Sakura came up, and Tenten and Temari went down. The green-eyed girl nodded, and clapped her hands together. The metal seemed to melt like snow, dripping on the floor and assembling into a small ball.

"Yep. These works just fine, Naruto!" she reported, picking up the ball and storing it in a pocket. The blonde grinned. "Good. They were supposed to. Tea, anyone?" he offered, sitting in lotus position with a set of cups already there.

Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, Kankuro and Gaara sat down calmly, taking a cup each, ignoring everyone else's mystified glances.

"Tastes good," Kankuro nodded, sipping cautiously.

"Indeed, a very nice taste."

"Yep!"

"Hn."

"…Very good, Naruto."

Naruto beamed. "Why thank you! It's my own herbal blend!" he stage-whispered. Sakura and Sasuke snorted. "Which practically means we won't ever get to know what's in it. Hey, nice move, Temari!"

Everyone's attention turned to the fight, where the blonde wind user was more or less blowing away the brunette weapon user. Bad match-up in general, really.

"Y'know, I sometimes wonder if they stage the fights to get less competitors."

"Maybe."

"I think so."

"You do?"

"…No."

X

Next fight was Shikamaru vs Kin Tsuchi.

"Oh, it's the bell girl," Naruto blinked. The others blinked too. "The what now?" Sakura wondered. The blonde pointed down in the arena. "The bell girl. She had… has… bells on her senbon, and plays around with them. She ought to train more though, it doesn't sound very nice."

"I don't think it's supposed to," Sasuke said dryly, raising an eyebrow as he could practically see the wheels working in Shikamaru's head. "Shikamaru's won," he smirked.

Temari frowned. "How do you know?" she asked. The dark-haired boy shrugged. "Look at the positioning. He has her angled perfectly for his methods. Also, can't you see him thinking? That means he'll win. At least in a fight as pathetic as this," he explained.

The blonde girl nodded slowly. "I see… he's pretty smart, isn't he?" she questioned. The trio nodded in unison. "He's THE smartest. IQ over 200. I've got maybe 150-200, but I have other smarts than him," Naruto grinned.

"Hi Naruto."

"AAAH!"

The blonde jumped into the air, and hid behind Gaara, who blinked slowly as he looked at the one who had scared Naruto. It was a girl. She was smiling serenely, and looked rather peaceful. But there was a certain glint in her eyes that looked… strange.

"Hinata. Nice to see you!" Naruto grinned, still keeping the redhead between himself and the blue-haired girl.

"Then stop hiding behind Gaara," she said, looking rather deadpan. Naruto laughed nervously, and stepped around the confused sand ninja. "Sorry 'bout that," he apologized.

Hinata snorted. "Listen, could you make me that spear you did before? I might need it," she said sweetly. Seeing his frightened expression, she gave a short chuckle. "Not for you, darling. For those who will try to steal you away from me."

"Much better," Sasuke whispered. Sakura nodded. "Yeah, sure, keep thinking that until he pretends to want you for a boyfriend," she said. He twitched.

"…I don't need to make it. I have a copy of it. But! You won't get it unless you swear not to use it on any of these ones," Naruto waved his hand, gesturing to the sand sibs and his own team. Hinata hesitated, then nodded. Naruto pulled a huge spear out of his pocket and handed it over.

It was about a meter taller than Hinata, in a lavender-toned purple, with three hooked, sharp ends. It looked kind of like a trident, though a bit more elaborate.

It looked disturbing in a smiling Hinata's hand.

"Thank you, Naruto."

"…I wonder how the hell she manages to be so scary."

"You're not alone, Sasuke."

"…No. Not alone. But at least she's not after you."

"…You _are_ on your own, Naruto."

"Damn."

X

"Ah-hah-hah, it's my turn!" Naruto grinned, looking at Kiba, who looked rather unnerved, but still confident. Sasuke poked the blonde on his shoulder. "Tone down the laughter, you were going to keep that for the finals, remember?"

"'Course."

Sakura raised one eyebrow at Sasuke as Naruto leapt down into the arena. "You actually figured out what he'd be?" she wondered. The dark-haired boy shrugged. "The laughter was a give-away," he said. Sakura blinked, and then blinked again as she suddenly realized it.

"Ah. That'll be fun."

"Yup."

X

"Now, I'll have to use my own personality… damn, that'll be difficult. I'm already in another mindset," Naruto mused, leaning on a cane he had randomly pulled out of one of his endless pockets.

"What, you got lost in your head or something?" Kiba snorted, canine-like eyes keeping an eye on him. Akamaru barked. Naruto raised one eyebrow at the small dog. "Really, Akamaru? I resent that," he muttered.

"Start!"

The dog-boy was running as soon as the word was uttered. In his mind, an offensive move would be his best defense, especially seeing as he didn't know what Naruto could do anymore.

A quick end would be safest. Naruto blinked, and tilted his head. Kiba had quite some speed, but Naruto _was_ a time-traveling, inventing, maniac. He'd learned a bit more about life.

With a grin, Naruto lifted the cane and broke it in two against his knee. Kiba only barely evaded the splintered end of one side, and jumped away when the blonde threw the second one.

"Watch out," Naruto warned, giving an idle smile. The brunette frowned, and quickly leapt away from both Naruto and the broken cane, not really surprised when smoke began to erupt from it.

"Quit playing around with those things and fight like a real ninja!" Kiba yelled, tensing his body to run again. Naruto raised one eyebrow and lit a cigarette with the tip of his finger. "You do realize that our case of real ninja is a far cry from how ninjas used to be, right?" he asked.

At Kiba's annoyed, but lost look, the blonde shook his head. "No, no, no. The original ninja were sneaking people who did _everything_ to fulfill their goal. We're too flashy. But personally… I prefer it."

The dangerous smile playing over his lips made Kiba run at him full force. "Fang over fang!" he declared, beginning to spin. Naruto jumped out of the way, and stuck both hands into his pockets.

"Oh boy, I recognize that look," Sakura said, watching as the boy pulled several colored, pearl-like balls from his pockets. Sasuke smirked. "You don't say. Wonder what those will do."

"Something Naruto-fashioned," Kakashi butted in, smiling with his eye closed.

"Yeah, probably something like that."

Kiba stopped spinning with a snarl, and span around, throwing a kunai at the blonde, who flung a purple-colored marble at the knife. The marble exploded as soon as the kunai hit it, and Naruto smirked as the strangely-formed knife clattered to the floor, now coated in purple and sticking to the floor as soon as it hit down.

Kiba growled, and pulled up a pill from his ninja pouch, tossing it to Akamaru. The white dog went fuzzy and red within seconds of swallowing it.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Y'know, I really just want to be in the finals, and I can't be bothered to play around anymore. I'm sleepy. So…" with an easy smile, he threw the rest of the marbles at the two, in such a speed that they could not avoid them all.

The result was two multi-colored blobs stuck to the floor. Naruto cracked up. "I didn't know that would happen!" he exclaimed. Hayate raised one eyebrow dubiously, and coughed once. "Winner: Naruto," he declared.

X

"Oh, now it's Hinata vs. Neji… but this time, it's _Hinata._ Poor Neji."

"I hear you. We should pray for him."

"Aye."

The teams around watched with various degrees of amusement as all of Team Awesome bowed their heads in prayer. Neji was not amused, and only scoffed. Hinata, on the other hand, was very amused.

"I never thought I'd be facing you, lady Hinata."

"You wanted to though. Bad karma. Besides, you ain't supposed to hit a lady!"

Neji blinked, as did several others. Was Hinata supposed to be so outspoken? "Hm, it does not matter. Before we start the match, I'd like to say something. You don't make a good ninja. Forfeit," the longhaired boy declared.

Pale lavender eyes narrowed, and a slender hand twirled the spear she had gotten from Naruto earlier with surprising ease. "Forfeit? As if! I've got a mission, Neji. And I will let none stand in the way!" she exclaimed.

Naruto shivered, and tried to hide behind Sasuke and Sakura, who instantly moved.

"And what would that be, lady Hinata?" the words were spoken with contempt and disbelief. Hinata puffed up her cheeks childishly, and pointed at Naruto with the spear.

"I'm going to get him to be my boyfriend! And to do that, I'm going to have to show my worth! Believe it!"

"She's using your old phrase," Sakura smiled crookedly. Naruto grunted. "I can't believe I ever walked around yelling that all the time," he sighed. "I can," Sasuke smirked.

"Like I believed, lady Hinata. You are a spoiled brat of the main house."

Hinata's eyes narrowed further. "Look who's talking. Wish I was from the branch house, so people would stop saying what I'm supposed to do! Quit trying to say how I'm to live my life, damn it!"

"Okay, she's not that bad. Just… scary," Naruto admitted. Gaara nodded slowly, looking curiously at the dark-haired girl. Sasuke and Sakura shrugged.

"Start the fight."

Neji immediately launched himself at Hinata, palms blazing with chakra. Hinata twirled her spear and blocked his hands with it, her own chakra coating it.

"How like a disgrace! You dare not even use the gentle fist!" Neji taunted. Hinata raised one eyebrow, and planted the spear in the floor. "Dare not? I'll show you gentle fist, cousin!" she claimed.

Her stance now mirrored Neji's, but as soon as he made to attack, she bent away, while blasting chakra out of her palms. Nothing seemed to happen, until the sleeves of Neji's jacket were suddenly torn off.

"What?"

As Neji hesitated a millisecond in surprise, Hinata span around him and attacked. He barely blocked, chakra visible to a normal eye around his hands. Hinata did not let up, and continued to do the same, even though he blocked each time.

When Neji regained his confident attitude, she suddenly changed method, and he winced when she hit his shoulder, causing his whole arm to drop. He leapt back, while she calmly fetched her spear.

"Forfeit, Neji," she said, making a parody of him. He scowled, and his byakugan blazed. "You cannot change! People cannot change themselves!" he declared.

Hinata tilted her head. "Can't change? Neji, can you honestly say I'm the same person I was when I first became a genin?" she wondered. Neji looked her over, and grudgingly admitted that she was somewhat different.

"It will not help you."

He went to attack again, but Hinata batted his hand away with her spear. "Yes, it will. Forfeit!" she exclaimed, twisting around and maneuvring the spear surprisingly well.

Neji gritted his teeth, but allowed his remaining working arm to slacken as he realized he had no way out. The trident-like spear was keeping him in his place, as if he moved, he would probably cut his neck on the sharp-looking edges.

"…I forfeit."

The spear was immediately removed, and Hinata walked over to him. "Stand still so I can fix your shoulder," she ordered when he moved away, and he huffed, but stopped. She poked an exact spot, and he grimaced when he again could move it, but it was tingling, as if he had slept on it.

They walked up the stairs together, but just before they parted, Hinata smiled at him. "My future boyfriend knows a lot about seals. Maybe he can help you."

Neji looked pensively over at the blonde who was currently gesturing wildly, seeming to be telling a story.

"…We'll see."

X

"Great fight, Hinata! Oh, now it's Gaara vs. Lee! …Don't kill him, kay?"

Gaara nodded, using his sand to float down into the arena. Lee was jumping from leg to leg, and the redhead tilted his head. "…You… should forfeit," he suggested.

Lee shook his head. "I cannot! I, much like Hinata, must prove myself! But I must prove myself to everyone!" he said, fire in his eyes. Gaara frowned. "Very well."

"Start."

"Naruto. Be my boyfriend now?"

"Not now, Hinata. We're watching Gaara and Lee, we can talk later."

"…You're not looking at him for a potential boyfriend, are you?"

Naruto turned to look at Hinata. "No. Not right now, anyway. Really, how about I take you on a date in the training month? You did do awesome in your fight, after all."

"I am satisfied with that."

As Hinata walked away with a smile on her face, Sakura and Sasuke glanced at each other.

"You think?"

"…Maybe."

"Hm."

X

Gaara and Lee finished their fight with Gaara wrapping the green-clad boy in his sand, and pointing his gun at him.

Last was the short fight between Dosu of the sound and Choji. The sound ninja won with a smirk.

"Okay, now we choose opponents for the finals! Get a number."

"Heh, the numbers are the same as the first time."

"Aye, aye."

"…Well then. Let's train."

**So, what do you think? I apologize about the last part, it's very rushed, but I SO wanted to finish... **

**Hope it's not too bad though!**

**Please review! ^::^**


	7. Chapter 7

**I've done it! I've written a new chapter! Finally! It's been almost exactly a year since the last update! **

**...I really am sorry about being such a terrible procrastinator. **

**But I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!**

"Hum…"

"What is he doing?"

"Humming?"

"No, no, not the humming, the pose, the pose!"

"Ah, I think that's meditating."

"SHUT UP! How am I supposed to meditate if you won't let me concentrate!?" Naruto demanded, opening his eyes to glare at the fellow members of Team Awesome.

Sakura grinned innocently.

"Aren't you supposed to train?" she asked. Naruto jumped up from his meditation pose, and poked her in the forehead. "I could ask you the same question!"

Sasuke smirked. "Well, we're training team spirit. And aren't you supposed to get ready for a date with Hinata anyway?" he wondered. The blonde stilled.

"Shit, I'm gonna be late!"

Sakura and Sasuke snickered as Naruto flew into the house.

X

"Where is Captain?"

Sakura and Sasuke turned to see Gaara standing in the doorway, his sea-blue eyes scanning the room. He was still in the pirate clothing, to their silent amusement.

"He headed out for the date he promised Hinata. Did you need anything?" Sakura smiled. She rather liked Gaara – though he was _scary _when he was pissed off.

The redhead gave a short shake of his head. "I do not," he said silently. The pinkette tilted her head, her now-growing-long-again-hair following the movement. "Well, why don't you play some cards with us!? It's a lot of fun!"

"You only say that because you actually manage to win without Naruto playing."

"I do not!"

"Do too."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"My darling students, you're confusing poor Gaara!"

All three teens looked up to see Kakashi sitting in the windowsill, smiling happily. Sasuke sniffed. "Sakura is confusing him, not me," he declared. Sakura glowered at him. "Guess who's being Naruto's guinea pig next time!"

"Okay, _we_'re confusing him."

Gaara's lips tilted slightly up at the amusing sight of the crazy time-travelers. He really hoped he could come with the next time they went – it seemed to be very fun.

He briefly noted that he had just referred to something as fun, and his smile went up – he was changing! Maybe he'd be just as crazy soon?

"Come on, Gaara! Let's play Go fish!"

"…Okay."

X

"Naruto, you're late."

"Really sorry 'bout that, I was detained by my wonderful teammates. But enough about them, may I treat you to ramen? I know it's rather cliché, but people don't like me yet, as you might have noticed."

Hinata's eyes didn't move from him, even as he knew she was glancing around. "Yes, ramen is fine. Stalking you for so long seemed to have given me a taste for it," she said airily.

The blonde gave her a dryly amused look. "You're not supposed to outright say stuff like that," he pointed out. She waved her hand at him. "Well, I decided that I didn't care about what others thought about me anymore. Well, except you, of course," she smiled.

"Right. Oh well, I must say, you look nice today, as you always do."

"Charmer. Thank you."

Naruto grinned, linking his arm with the bluenette. "Of course, what would I do without a bit of charm!?"

"Yes, what would you do indeed…"

"Eh, probably improvise."

"That wasn't a question, Naruto!"

"Oh."

X

"Checkmate!"

"It's Go fish, Kakashi!"

"…Oh. Go fish, then."

The silver-haired teacher smiled happily as he played cards, completely and utterly ignoring his students' amused looks, and Gaara's somewhat confused one.

Craziness was a rather confusing thing, after all.

"So, how are you going to be for the finals?" Kakashi asked off-handedly, blinking at the cards on his hand. Sasuke's eyes narrowed on his own. He never did have a very good pokerface.

That particular thing annoyed him something fierce. How come he, the wonderful Uchiha of Konoha, was bested by the sunniest blonde on earth in holding a pokerface!?

Oh well.

"You'll just have to wait and see, Kakashi! But I'm gonna give you a hint, because that' fun. My hair is going to stay pink, but it will be long, and I will easily eat a lot, without gaining weight," Sakura hummed happily.

The masked jonin tilted his head thoughtfully. "And you, Sasuke?"

"White clothes, pale skin, and half a helmet tell you anything?"

Kakashi nodded. "I see… Interesting choices. How about you, Gaara? Are you going to stay like that, or change into something else funny?"

The redhead blinked at the question. He hadn't thought about it, actually. "I don't know," he said silently. "I like being a pirate," he added.

Sakura beamed at him. "Oh, I know! You can be a different pirate! You've got just the right hair-color! I can help you with the costume, though we better do so in secret, that makes it much more fun!"

He nodded slowly. "Okay," he murmured. The enthusiasm of Team Awesome was amazing.

"Have fun," Sasuke said idly, looking serene for a whole 4 seconds before throwing his cards out the window. Kakashi and Sakura burst into laughter, and Gaara smiled slightly.

"I HATE CARD GAMES!"

X

"Waah, I'm exhausted!"

"What for?"

"He was on a date, of course he's exhausted!"

"…Why?"

Sakura shook her head impatiently at Sasuke. "Because it's the man's job to make sure the woman has everything she needs! And the crazy Hinata needs much more than the shy one," she explained.

Naruto plopped down on the couch, exhausted look completely gone as he lit a cigarette. "So, what have you been doing?"

"Weren't you just exhausted?" Sasuke demanded. The blonde nodded. "Of course I was. But that was moments ago, of course I'm fine _now_!" he grinned.

Gaara blinked slowly. "Captain and Sakura has the same peculiar view on time," he noted.

"Nah, Naruto counts in seconds, Sakura in minutes. So it's not quite the same," Sasuke informed the redhead calmly. He waved away a bit of smoke, and then his eye twitched as the smoke literally clung to his hand, miniature hands holding tight. "Naruto!"

"Sorry, sorry," the blonde grinned.

X

"Tell me, is the world supposed to make sense?"

"No, where'd you get that idea?"

"Hm… just wondered."

The two sand shinobi who were_ not _quite crazy yet sighed. What had they done to end up in the company of these crazies? Really… And where on earth had Baki went off to? They had hoped their teacher could at least have given them some peace of mind, but no. He was gone.

Stupid man.

"Kankuro, if I ever go crazy…"

"Yeah?"

"Wack me with something heavy."

The boy with the purple paint in his face blinked slowly. "Uh, sure," he nodded. "If this gives you brain damage, should I wack you again?"

Temari gave him a half-hearted glower.

X

"Was that…?"

"Uh-huh."

Ino shook her head with a sigh as she saw a pink blur fly above the roofs. Shikamaru smirked with lazy amusement. "What, still annoyed at losing to Sakura?" he asked. She glowered at him, and shook her head fiercely. "No way! She's gone nuts, that's all."

"If so, being nuts is obviously the way to go," the dark-haired boy said lazily. She stared incredulously at him, and he shrugged. "You can't deny that they're stronger," he pointed out.

She just shook her head again. "_Everyone _is going crazy!"

X

Naruto looked contemplatively at the puddle in which the Innocence floated calmly. Of course, it wasn't really floating, seeing as it was a puddle, and a puddle couldn't hold an entire huge ship, but this was the ninja world and they had never really been making sense here from the start. At least that was his candid opinion.

Now that he thought about it, he seemed to have some very long sentences in his head.

"Are you over-thinking something, Naruto?" Kakashi wondered, glancing at his student from where he was lying on the roof with his ever-present book.

"Why over-thinking?"

"Because you always think too much."

"Huh."

Naruto stuck his tongue out towards the scarecrow man. "For your information, I'm _not _over-thinking! I'm… contemplating!" he said decisively. Kakashi nodded. "Sure."

"You don't believe me at all, do you?"

"Nope."

"Hmph," Naruto grunted, crossing his arms. "I'm gonna go find Fuzzy. I need his help," he decided. Kakashi tilted his head curiously, then shrugged and looked back to his book.

His attention was momentarily taken away from the book when he found himself in free fall, but a small adjustment of his pose made him land perfectly fine on the ground. He smiled cheerfully as he heard Sakura curse.

X

Sasuke jumped up. And again. And again. And again. Then he stumbled.

"Why is it so hard to jump over a rope!?"

Sakura giggled. "Might have something to do with the blindfold. Nobody said I had to do this rhythmically, you know," she pointed out. Sasuke pulled the cloth down from his eyes to glare at her. "Cheater," he declared.

The pinkette just stuck her tongue out. "We're ninjas."

"Honorable ones."

"There's no such thing."

"Is too."

"Is not. We kill people."

"Honorably."

"Smoke bombs and knives in backs are honorable?"

"…Sure."

X

"Is this an interlude?"

"A what's-it-called?"

"An interlude."

"…Naruto, what _is_ an interlude?"

"Don't you know? It means "between play". A short period filled with senseless stuff, really."

"How do _you _know that Sakura!?"

Sakura shrugged, smiling at Sasuke. "I read. Sometimes. Naruto is not the only one who does that, you know," she pointed out dryly. The dark-haired boy sniffed. "I read too. There's nothing about interludes there," he said huffily.

"It depends on the material you're reading, I think," Naruto said airily, poking at his finger with a spork. Both his teammates focused on the bright blue tool. "What's that for?" they asked.

"Team weapon! I figured we could have a spork in one hand, a frying pan in the other! It'll be like having a shield and a knife! Though you can do much more!" the blonde grinned widely. "I think the spork would be very useful in blinding people!"

Sakura hummed doubtfully, while Sasuke glared mistrustfully at the seemingly innocent little thing. It was plastic. A tool for eating. Not a weapon. "And that's what makes it brilliant of course," he snorted. The others gave him a blank look, and he waved them away.

"Where's your cig, Naruto?"

"I haven't the slightest idea. Hinata said I should stop smoking. It gives little kids ideas that aren't good for them, she said! D'you think I'm influencing people by smoking?"

"Yes," both Sakura and Sasuke deadpanned. Naruto blinked slowly, then gave a mournful sigh. "Oh well. I'll have to find a new addiction."

X

"Captain?"

"Hm? You don't have to call me that, y'know. I'm not very piratey or captainy at all right now."

Gaara paused. "…What do I call you then?" he wondered. Naruto smiled, the smile one of his subdued, more genuine ones. "You can call me Naruto. Or anything else that you'd like, really," he said cheerfully.

The redhead was silent for a moment, then he nodded. "Naruto. Do you know that Sand and Sound plan to invade Leaf?" he asked. Naruto blinked, then nodded. "Of course I know that. It's happened almost every single time we went back. Why?" he wondered.

"…Do you not want Leaf to remain? Your friends could be harmed. Killed."

"I care nothing for Leaf, not really. But my friends, yeah. But much of their plan goes on your cooperation, doesn't it?"

"Yes."

Naruto grinned. "Then I don't think we have anything to worry about."

Gaara smiled hesitantly back, nodding his head in agreement. He rather liked the warm feeling in his chest when he understood that Naruto _trusted him_. It was a very nice feeling.

X

"Okay, everyone up! Gear on, war-preparations done, it's the chunin exams!"

"Finally!"

"Let's get some action!"

"I'm on your side."

"So are we. Can't abandon our brother, now can we?"

Naruto grinned. "Let's rock this!"

**Sorry about the shortness of it, but I really, really wanted to update for those of you who have asked me so kindly! **

**Let another period of waiting begin... (Sorry 'bout that. School, other stuff, other stories (unpublished ones)...and my procrastination.) I'll try to be quicker with the next chapter!**


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